THE GRAND CHESSBOARD

Excellent .one of my favorite author.must to understand geopolitics

Poor quality of book pages. Does not look like original with a cost of ₹2000+

The key points are good but quite repetitive. A long essay form could have made this a more engaging read

“The Grand Chessboard” by Zbigniew Brzezinski may well be dated by now, as America’s last few governments have not been able to sustain American primacy. The book, however, is an excellent – if ruthless and cold-blooded – primer on geopolitical strategy. In essence, however, the author (whose name’s spelling is impossible) derives much of his strategic approach from Mackinder, and his dictum that whoever controls the Eurasian landmass controls the world. Zbigniew Brzezinski divides the region into several theaters – Western, Eastern, Southern, and middle-mass - with a separate strategy for each. He further states that when you control the Eurasian landmass, you will inevitably control Africa. The book is fascinating because it reveals the hegemonic nature of American strategy just after the end of the Cold War, when America rode the world like a colossus. He makes the somewhat ambitious claim that there has never been, nor will there be, a superpower like America. The zero-sum game he describes displays a tendency to fall into cliché’s and like all hegemons, he does not deign to even care about understanding the cultures that he proposes America dominates. However, while we may criticize this approach, I give Zbigniew Brzezinski full credit for not beating about the bush. He is prescient in predicting the rise of Ukraine and China. Zbigniew Brzezinski does not give space to India, except to state that India’s ambitions outweigh its capabilities: a sobering thought for Indian policy makers. Zbigniew Brzezinski is clear-sighted: he is aware that America’s dominance will not last forever. However, I doubt that he could have predicted that the slide would happen so soon after the book’s publication.

Although written in 1997 one of the best and most relevant books on geopolitics and foreign relations I ever read. Z. Brzezinski, both as intellectual and as practitioner, and H. Kissinger are the two most important and influential global foreign policy thinkers of the 20th century. Thoroughly enjoyed the author's unrivaled insights into Europe, Asia-Pacific, and everything in between on this giant landmass called "Eurasia". This work helped me to make sense of some of the madness happening these days anywhere between continental Europe and the South China Sea.

Ottimo

Good read

Gran análisis hecho en 1998, en el que advierte de los problemas que se ocasionarían si EEUU no actuaba adecuadamente (como ha sucedido). Predice la crisis de Ucrania. Muy bien escrito y explica los conceptos de la geopolítica con claridad. El análisis de Rusia y lo que llama los Balcanes de Asia central (lo que hay entre Rusia, Turquía, irán e India) es buenísimo. Libro importante para complementar nuestra visión eurocéntrica y entender mejor las preocupaciones de Rusia. Importante tener en cuenta que esto es anterior a Putin y describe los desafíos que tenía Rusia por delante. Los mapas y cuadros son imposibles de leer en la versión Kindle.

While the world has rapidly changed in the years since its original publication, most of the global issues presented in Brzezinski’s masterly work are still faced in the present. Eurasia is undeniably the center of global power. If the United States wishes to maintain its mantle as a global superpower, it must preserve its dominance of the continent. Brzezinski exhibits the dangers to US primacy as France, Germany, Russia and China. Should Europe unite, a goal that France and Germany continue to strive for, America would lose its center of authority on the continent. At present, Europe relies on American hegemony and leadership in its global policies. As 27 (previously 28) relatively small independent nations, the EU cannot negotiate on a global scale with the same authority as the US (or increasingly China). However as one nation and one voice, Europe would be able to dominate the global stage alongside the US, causing dual hegemony (perhaps even surpassing it with France’s global outlook). America must decide whether it is in its interest to support a strong Europe as an ally or prevent its unification, maintaining global mastery. Russia’s modern history has left many scars on its national identity; from defeat in the Russo-Japanese war to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Perhaps most impotently the loss of Ukraine. This has left Russia with the gnawing question “what is Russia?” An empire? Not without Ukraine. An Ideology? Not without the Soviets. A Superpower? Not without either of the previous two. But the far more appropriate question for the US is ‘what should Russia be?’ America and the West must decide if they will embrace Russia, or leaver her in the cold. The answer will determine the future of American primacy, for better or worse. In 1997 China was still emerging as a global power. Reading this work in 2021, it is hard to ignore Brzezinski’s prediction that ‘even by the year 2020, it is unlikely even under the best circumstances that China could become truly competitive in the key dimensions of a global power.’ It is true, that China is not yet a global power (it certainly has the muscle to be, but not yet the influence). However, one cannot shut one’s eyes to the rapidity with which China has risen to rival the US. China, not Russia, is the true threat to American primacy. Brzezinski predicts in his conclusion that America will not remain the sole superpower forever. No one could have predicted in 1997 that the US would elect President Trump. Nor could they predict he would be replaced by Joe Biden. These historic elections do not bode well for the Pax Americana. With China on the rise, Russia in limbo and Europe stagnant, we wait with bated breath to see what is yet to come.