The President’s Inbox TPI Replay: The Eurasia Challenge, With Hal Brands
Aug 12, 2025
Hal Brands, a distinguished professor of global affairs and author of The Eurasian Century, joins James M. Lindsay to delve into the strategic importance of Eurasia. They discuss how control over this landmass affects U.S. national security and trace its historical context from World War I to today's autocratic regimes. The conversation highlights geopolitics, with Brands emphasizing Mackinder's theories on land versus sea power and the rise of China. The duo warns against U.S. isolationism, stressing the need for robust military alliances to safeguard global stability.
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Why Eurasia Matters Strategically
- Eurasia is the strategic center because it holds most people, resources, and military potential.
- Technology and ideology amplified violence across Eurasia in the 20th century, making it the cockpit of global rivalry.
Three Foundational Geopolitical Thinkers
- Mackinder, Mahan, and Spykman each explained Eurasia's centrality from different angles: heartland, sea power, and rimland.
- Their debates converged on the idea that Eurasia would define modern great-power competition.
History Rhymes In Great-Power Politics
- History doesn't repeat exactly but it often 'rhymes'—lineups and tech change while familiar dynamics persist.
- Autocratic regional challengers again pressure Eurasian balances, now increasingly coordinating.
