Open Book with Anthony Scaramucci America’s Power Problem: What the Cold War Teaches Us About Today
Jan 13, 2026
Edward Luce, U.S. national editor for the Financial Times and author of a biography on Zbigniew Brzezinski, dives deep into the lessons of the Cold War. He explores Brzezinski's childhood experiences during WWII and how they shaped his approach to foreign policy. The conversation highlights Brzezinski's clash with traditional elites and his insights into the unraveling of the Soviet Union. Luce also connects Brzezinski's values-driven philosophy to today's geopolitical challenges, emphasizing the need for renewed diplomacy in an era of social media.
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Formative Wartime Memory
- Edward Luce recounts young Zbigniew Brzezinski hearing Radio Warsaw during Poland's partition and wartime silence.
- Those diary entries show how the blitzkrieg horror forged his lifelong sense of tragic duty.
Dismantling The USSR From Within
- Brzezinski targeted the Soviet Union's Achilles heel: national identities within the USSR and captive nations like Poland.
- He promoted human-rights support and samizdat to accelerate the Soviet system's unraveling rather than direct military intervention.
Social Media Undermines Long-Term Strategy
- Social media and fast news cycles make long-term foreign policy much harder to conduct.
- Brzezinski worried Western cultural and educational decline would become a national security problem.
