ChinaTalk

Twilight Struggle: Cold War Lessons for US-China Today

May 7, 2022

Hal Brands, a professor at Johns Hopkins University and author of 'The Twilight Struggle,' joins to discuss pivotal lessons from the Cold War that resonate today. He analyzes how the U.S. leveraged Soviet failings in the developing world and the critical role of technology during that era. Brands reflects on the cyclical nature of American confidence and doubt, compares today's Sinologists to Cold War Sovietologists, and provocatively asserts that only the instigator of the Ukraine war can halt it.

01:25:37

Episode guests

Hal Brands

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

3min

Lessons from the Cold War: Insights for Today

22min

The Evolution of U.S. Nuclear Strategy During the Cold War

5min

Evolving U.S. National Security: Lessons from the Cold War

23min

Reinvesting in Expertise: Lessons from the Cold War for Modern Challenges

4min

Historical Parallels in Geopolitical Strategies

17min

Balancing Power and Diplomacy in the Late Cold War

5min

Exploring Cold War Literature and Academia

4min

Hal Brands (@HalBrands), professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, is the author of The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today. Along with co-host Emily Jin @ew_jin) of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), we discuss:

How the US capitalized on Soviet heavy-handedness in the developing world
How technology impacted the broader trajectory of the Cold War
The US’s never-ending cycles of self-confidence and self-doubt
Today’s Sinologists versus Cold War Sovietologists
Why the only person who can stop the war in Ukraine is the one who started it

Outro music: Nancy by Ak Benjamin ft. Marz23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agIvGYMA7Cw

CHECK OUT THE CHINATALK SUBSTACK! https://chinatalk.substack.com

Support us on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ChinaTalk

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts

Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.