Hal Brands

Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger distinguished professor of global affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and the author, most recently, of  The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World.

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The Great Game With China Is 3D Chess

Argument
Hal Brands, Zack Cooper
China-superpower-two-paths-xi-jinping-foreign-policy-illustration_sized
China-superpower-two-paths-xi-jinping-foreign-policy-illustration_sized

China Has Two Paths to Global Domination

The Big Think
Hal Brands, Jake Sullivan
Carter_Doctrine-Trump-Mike-McQuade_illustration-1
Carter_Doctrine-Trump-Mike-McQuade_illustration-1

RIP the Carter Doctrine, 1980-2019

The Big Think
Hal Brands, Steven A. Cook, Kenneth M. Pollack
Foreign Policy illustration/Madoka Ikegami-Pool/Getty Images/Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Foreign Policy illustration/Madoka Ikegami-Pool/Getty Images/Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Real Origins of the U.S.-China Cold War

Feature
Charles Edel, Hal Brands
Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush stand side by side after Obama was sworn in as the 44th president in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. (Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)
Former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush stand side by side after Obama was sworn in as the 44th president in Washington on Jan. 20, 2009. (Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)

Foreign Officials See Bush and Obama in Trump

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the auditorium of Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Jan. 16. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks in the auditorium of Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Jan. 16. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Trump Doesn’t Believe in His Own Foreign Policy. Does That Matter?

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands
President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen meet in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, on Jan. 4. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen meet in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, on Jan. 4. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

If You Thought 2017 Was Bad, Just Wait for 2018

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands
Photo taken in February 1972 shows New York during a twilight. / AFP PHOTO / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
Photo taken in February 1972 shows New York during a twilight. / AFP PHOTO / - (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

The Gathering Storm vs. the Crisis of Confidence

Argument
Hal Brands, Charles Edel
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 01: U.S. President Donald Trump announces his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement in the Rose Garden at the White House June 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to withdraw from the accord, which former President Barack Obama and the leaders of 194 other countries signed in 2015. The agreement is intended to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit global warming to a manageable level. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 01: U.S. President Donald Trump announces his decision to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement in the Rose Garden at the White House June 1, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump pledged on the campaign trail to withdraw from the accord, which former President Barack Obama and the leaders of 194 other countries signed in 2015. The agreement is intended to encourage the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in an effort to limit global warming to a manageable level. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Why Abandoning Paris Is a Disaster for America

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Daniel B. Baer, Daniel Benjamin, Hal Brands, Reuben E. Brigety II, Sharon Burke, Derek Chollet, Sheba Crocker, Dan Feldman, Jon Finer, Nina Hachigian, Colin Kahl, Kelly Magsamen, Tom Malinowski, Jeffrey Prescott, Ely Ratner, Vikram Singh, Julie Smith, Jake Sullivan, Jim Townsend
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 14: A flag at the U.S. Capitol has been lowered to half staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking on the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School December 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama called for 'meaningful action' in the wake of the latest school shooting that left 27 dead, including 20 children. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 14: A flag at the U.S. Capitol has been lowered to half staff after President Barack Obama ordered the action while speaking on the shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School December 14, 2012 in Washington, DC. Obama called for 'meaningful action' in the wake of the latest school shooting that left 27 dead, including 20 children. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The End of History Is the Birth of Tragedy

Argument
Hal Brands, Charles Edel
US President Donald Trump looks on upon his arrival at EU headquarters ahead of a meeting with European Council President, as part of the NATO meeting, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Emmanuel DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump looks on upon his arrival at EU headquarters ahead of a meeting with European Council President, as part of the NATO meeting, in Brussels, on May 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Emmanuel DUNAND (Photo credit should read EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP/Getty Images)

Can U.S. Internationalism Survive Trump?

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House, January 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. On Saturday, President Trump is making several phone calls with world leaders from Japan, Germany, Russia, France and Australia. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 28: President Donald Trump speaks on the phone with Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House, January 28, 2017 in Washington, DC. On Saturday, President Trump is making several phone calls with world leaders from Japan, Germany, Russia, France and Australia. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

6 Things We Know About Trump’s Foreign Policy After 100 Days

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands
Members of the Iraqi forces drive their Humvees in the streets of west Mosul on March 17, 2017 as they advance in the offensive against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. / AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)
Members of the Iraqi forces drive their Humvees in the streets of west Mosul on March 17, 2017 as they advance in the offensive against Islamic State (IS) group jihadists. / AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS (Photo credit should read ARIS MESSINIS/AFP/Getty Images)

What Should Trump Do After the Islamic State Is Defeated?

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands
Several hundred people, holding up portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (L), gather near the Russian embassy in Damascus on October 13, 2015 to express their support for Moscow's air war in Syria, just before two rockets struck the embassy compound sparking panic among the crowd. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA / AFP / LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)
Several hundred people, holding up portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (L), gather near the Russian embassy in Damascus on October 13, 2015 to express their support for Moscow's air war in Syria, just before two rockets struck the embassy compound sparking panic among the crowd. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA / AFP / LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP/Getty Images)

The Strategic Suicide of Aligning With Russia in Syria

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Hal Brands, Colin Kahl
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on January 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump today mocked protesters who gathered for large demonstrations across the U.S. and the world on Saturday to signal discontent with his leadership, but later offered a more conciliatory tone, saying he recognized such marches as a "hallmark of our democracy." (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on January 22, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump today mocked protesters who gathered for large demonstrations across the U.S. and the world on Saturday to signal discontent with his leadership, but later offered a more conciliatory tone, saying he recognized such marches as a "hallmark of our democracy." (Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)

Trump’s Grand Strategic Train Wreck

Shadow Government 2017-2021
Colin Kahl, Hal Brands
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