Mark Leonard's World in 30 Minutes Hot and cold wars: How Eurasia shaped the modern geopolitical world
Feb 21, 2025
Hal Brands, a Henry Kissinger Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, explores how Eurasian dynamics have shaped global conflicts from WWI to today. He discusses the emergence of a second Eurasian century, driven by authoritarian powers like Russia, China, and Iran. Brands reveals the strategic alliances forming among these regimes against U.S. influence and analyzes how Donald Trump's vision might shift global power dynamics, affecting America's role and alliances in a changing world.
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Mackinder's Heartland Theory
- Mackinder's theory suggests that clashes between Eurasian powers seeking dominance and those trying to contain them are inevitable.
- His ideas have influenced geopolitical thought for over a century, shaping understandings of global conflicts.
Two Schools of Geopolitics
- Geopolitical thinkers are divided into democratic and autocratic schools.
- The democratic school aims to preserve a world safe for liberal societies, while the autocratic school promotes aggressive expansion.
The Second Eurasian Century
- A second Eurasian century is emerging, marked by Eurasian autocracies challenging the existing balance of power.
- These autocracies, including Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, are increasingly collaborating, creating a complex geopolitical landscape.
