Zbigniew BrzezinskiStrategic Vision

The first sentence inside of the dust jacket of this 2012 New York Times Best Seller says: “Strategic Vision is a much-needed wake-up call regarding the international repercussions if America fails to address its multiple domestic crises successfully.” Note also that the title of Part I of the book is: “The Receding West”, while the title of Part II is: “The waning of the American Dream”; both of these could easily be titles of many articles, books, films, and podcasts, etc. in today’s news.This book in many ways does a 180-degree-turn on what the author says about American primacy, the topic covered in his prior book, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives.Accessing multiple daily media sources about the US shows a plethora of articles about what has happened in American life today, including the following: Detroit’s water crisis; Chicago’s pension plan insolvency and the bankruptcy of its state: Illinois and how all of this will affect peoples’ retirement (if they can retire at all); the downward spiral of US schools, whose students now place the lowest of all of the industrialized countries, with 2 special groups, ESL/ ELL and Special Ed. leaving the public school system - or worse - transferring to charter schools that the US taxpayer also has to fund but aren’t even equipped to teach. None of this bodes well for US society right now.How could Dr. Brzezinski’s earlier book, The Grand Chessboard, pushing US primacy, link with this book as a chaser, even starting out discussing its global decay? Could the global expansion costs have caused the US to leave the center of the world stage? Who are the current global players, instead of us, and why?When an author writes a book, especially one that is political and deals with foreign affairs, this type of book captures activities as a snapshot in time. When authors write later books, sometimes their views change. The publication dates between these 2 books is only 15 years; however, right now, that gap has stretched to 20 years, which really shows even more of a marked reversal.This is why I recommend that readers also buy and read Brzezinski’s earlier book, The Grand Chessboard: American Primacy and Its Geostrategic Imperatives (1997), the natural bookend to this one. Both books should be read and - more importantly – discussed with other people, to try to get a feel for what main political themes were planned and executed in the past, the effects of these national/ global decisions regarding the US, and the blowback that has been happening to the US since then and why.Doing this mental/ social sifting and refining of ideas and main themes helps readers understand our country’s political/ diplomatic arena and presents a clearer lens for Americans to understand how we fit into the ever-changing grand scheme of world events that Brzezinski has shared with us – at both ends (i.e. via these 2 books). This process also helps us use important, necessary higher-order thinking and communicative skills as citizens, to deal with what is happening in our country and world today, especially during election times.Strategic Visions (along with Chessboard) should be required reading to increase the Politics/ Foreign Affairs knowledge base for every inquiring mind, especially regarding the concept of ‘global order’ and how the US currently fits inside of this.(Please see my other Brzezinski Amazon ‘bookend’ review on: The Grand Chessboard.)

I'm a Morning Joe regular, and I've long admired Dr. Brzezinski. However, this prolonged memo (it's really too short to be called a "book".) makes a case for considering multiple points of view. The other reviews (when I bought the book there were none, now there are five) struck me as articulate, but leaning towards sycophancy. There's a lot to like, but it's not beyond criticism. For example,he explains the present belief of America's decline by saying: "Six critical dimensions stand out as America's major, and increasingly threatening, liabilities:". Thefirst is an unsustainable national debt, the second our "flawed financial system", third, "widening income inequality coupled with stagnating social mobility", fourth is decaying national infrastructure, fifth is "a public that is highly ignorant about the world", while sixth is "America's increasingly gridlocked and highly partisan political system." You've got to agree with this analysis (even though I think the analysis in WINNER TAKE ALL POLITICS by Jacob S. Hacker and Paul Pierson presents the same problems with root causes much more effectively). Brzezinski makes all these points quite cogently without belaboring the analysis. The dialogue is fast, crisp and, best of all, decidedly un-wonkish. Anyone can understand the difficult concepts. Unfortunately, instead of providing solutions to what many economists, political scientists and social comentators have labelled "insoluble", he says that "the foreseeable future is still largely America's to shape. the United States has the capacity to correct its evident shortcomings--if it takes full advantage of its considerable strengths in the following six key areas: overall economic strength, innovative potential, demographic dynamics, reactive mobilization, geographic base, and democratic appeal." He goes on to expand upon these six strengths, apparently unaware that he has anthropomorphized the country itself (see statement above--"if IT takes full advantage of ITS considerable strengths," etc. This is not a solution, it's a wish list. He is correct in everything he says, but it becomes perfectly clear that he is better spoken yet only linguistically superior to the politicians he advises. HE HAS NO REAL ANSWERS. HE IS SHORT ON SOLUTIONS. This IS slightly unfair. To any specific global problem, it becomes clear he has a specific, defensible recommendation. As you read through that section of the book concerning the problem areas of the globe, you begin to wish he had been a Republican at the side of George W. Bush, whose foreign policy must have originated in some video game designer's studio. Still, he describes virtually every situation calling for sensitive limited engagement. He is without meaningful threat; his style seems to abandon confrontation. It's like he's looking for the KUMBAYAH MOMENT internationally. Similarly disappointing, is the lack of allowance for major incidence. It's long forgotten that a great deal of the groundwork for the present relationship between the US, (then) Nationalist China, and (then DBA)"Mainland China", was the shelling of the islands of Quemoy and Matsu by the communists. This CHANGED the whole equation, underscoring the value the (then)communists placed upon eventual unification. That provocation went a long way towards establishing the US "one China" policy that Dr. Brzezinski describes eloquently in what comes off as almost a tribute to Deng Xiou Peng. What happens to this carefully crafted strategy towards rolling accomodation if there is a major war between India and Pakistan? Weaknesses and all, though,you can stack this against any number of similar books and you still come up with a "BUY" recommendation. His analysis is brilliant. His research is spot on. His editing reeks of a fine, well-used blue pencil, and his understanding of differing global values is encyclopedic. In the final analysis, you have to appreciate this book for what it includes in a small, pithy volume, not for what he was sagacious enough to leave out.

Offers a experienced view on geopolitics, although somewhat pessimistic. I have read more in-depth geopolitical essays than this, but not bad.

while I don't subscribe in his political philosophy and doctrine. I make sure to read everything he writes. great read.his views have never been as important as today.I recommend it to everybody who has an interest in todays worlds socio-political map.postage and packing were good too.

I enjoyed reading the book. I found it very clear and logical. Brzezinski's makes geopolitics look easy by breaking down causes and consequences of each potential strategic objective of the US and other major countries.

Everything as expected, Excellent choice, great purchase.

A Bible for students of Geopolitics.