January 31, 2025

The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World with Hal Brands

For more than 100 years, the continent of Eurasia has played a central role in global geopolitics. In the 20th century, numerous authoritarian powers from Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Soviet Union aimed for primacy through control of this vast landmass and its resources. Today, command of Eurasia is once again essential to understanding a key geopolitical trend, the intensifying challenge of this axis of upheaval to the Western-led international order. On this week’s episode of Brussels Sprouts, Hal Brands joins Andrea Kendall Taylor and Jim Townsend to discuss all of this and the findings of new book, The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World.

Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is also a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion.

  • Podcast
    • April 30, 2025
    Ukraine Negotiates for Its Future

    There’s been a flurry of activity on the Ukraine front this week. Over the weekend, Donald Trump briefly met with Zelensky in Rome during ceremonies for Pope Francis’ funeral....

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

  • Video
    • April 14, 2025
    Trump ‘Humiliated’ as Putin Sends Clear Message That He Doesn’t Care About US

    "Putin is not playing ball." Putin's Palm Sunday attack on Sumy is "embarrassing for the White House" as it comes just days after Steve Witkoff met with the Kremlin, says adju...

    By Jim Townsend

  • Podcast
    • April 11, 2025
    The Hidden Past and Uncertain Future of the U.S. and Ukraine with Celeste Wallander

    Under the Trump administration, U.S. support for Ukraine is no longer guaranteed. President Trump's pause on aid and intelligence to Ukraine in March may have been brief, but ...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Celeste Wallander

  • Video
    • April 9, 2025
    Is Russia Under Pressure?

    Since 2014, the United States and its allies have provided increasing military support to Ukraine while imposing more and tougher economic sanctions on Russia, especially sinc...

    By Jeffrey Edmonds

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia