Zbig: The Strategy and Statecraft of Zbigniew Brzezinski

by Charles Gati (Editor), Jimmy Carter (Foreword by)

Overview

“Captures [Brzezinski’s] extraordinary insights into international politics as well as his commitment to a morally inspired political realism . . . superb.” —International Affairs

Zbigniew Brzezinski’s multifaceted career dealing with U.S. security and foreign policy led him from the halls of academia to multiple terms in public service, including a stint as President Carter’s National Security Advisor from 1977 to 1981. His strategic vision continues to influence our world today.

To assess the ramifications of Brzezinski’s engagement in world politics and policy making, Charles Gati has enlisted many of the top foreign policy players of recent decades to reflect on and analyze the man and his work. A senior scholar in Eastern European and Russian studies, Gati observed firsthand much of the history and politics surrounding Brzezinski’s career. His vibrant introduction and concluding one-on-one interview with Brzezinski lucidly frame the book’s critical assessment of this major statesman’s accomplishments.

“A highly readable volume of reflections on the legendary Cold Warrior by academics, journalists and Brzezinski's colleagues . . . A welcome addition to the field of political science.” —New Eastern Europe

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781421409771
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	04/27/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	284
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Charles Gati is a senior research professor of European and Eurasian Studies at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His books include Failed Illusions: Moscow, Washington, Budapest, and the 1956 Hungarian Revolt and The Bloc That Failed: Soviet–East European Relations in Transition.

Table of Contents

Foreword, by Jimmy Carter
Preface, by Charles Gati
Part I: From the Ivy League
Chapter 1. Zbig, Henry, and the New U.S. Foreign Policy Elite
Chapter 2. The Fall of Totalitarianism and the Rise of Zbigniew Brzezinski
Chapter 3. Anticipating the Grand Failure
Part II: To the National Security Council
Chapter 4. Setting the Stage for the Current Era
Chapter 5. Beijing's Friend, Moscow's Foe
Chapter 6. The Caricature and the Man
Chapter 7. Dealing with the Middle East
Chapter 8. Working Hard, Having Fun at the NSC
Chapter 9. The Evening Report
Part III: The Policy Advocate
Chapter 10. Brzezinski, the Pope, and the "Plot" to Free Poland
Chapter 11. Witnessing the Grand Failure in Moscow, 1989
Chapter 12. Brzezinski and Iraq: The Makings of a Dove
Chapter 13. Solving the Arab-Israeli Conflict
Chapter 14. The Strategic Thinker
Part IV: Portraits
Chapter 15. The Professor
Chapter 16. An Appreciation
Chapter 17. A Self-Assessment
Acknowledgments
Chronology
Selected Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index
Illustrations follow page 111

What People are Saying About This

Jakub Grygiel

An excellent—and never done before—study of Brzezinski and his intellectual and policy decisions over the course of more than 50 years of American foreign policy. It is well organized, well written, thought-provoking, and adds a lot of information.

Madeleine Albright

Charles Gati has done a service to scholars and to all who are interested in U.S. foreign policy. Zbig is both a long overdue tribute and a comprehensive, balanced, and much-needed study of Dr. Brzezinski's extraordinary career.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews

There is no sharper, clearer, more strategic thinker alive today than Zbig Brzezinski. This fascinating book brings that label to life, adding color, depth, personality and values to his incisive mind. It is history, biography, and very nearly a how-to book on thinking strategically.

From the Publisher

There is no sharper, clearer, more strategic thinker alive today than Zbig Brzezinski. This fascinating book brings that label to life, adding color, depth, personality and values to his incisive mind. It is history, biography, and very nearly a how-to book on thinking strategically.
—Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Charles Gati has done a service to scholars and to all who are interested in U.S. foreign policy. Zbig is both a long overdue tribute and a comprehensive, balanced, and much-needed study of Dr. Brzezinski's extraordinary career.
—Madeleine Albright, former United States Secretary of State

An excellent—and never done before—study of Brzezinski and his intellectual and policy decisions over the course of more than 50 years of American foreign policy. It is well organized, well written, thought-provoking, and adds a lot of information.
—Jakub Grygiel, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies

Zbig Brzezinski's influence on American foreign policy—as a practitioner, adviser, writer, teacher—has been consistently pointed, with a sharp analytical edge, and directed to the heart of the matter. Whether or not one agrees with Zbig, he is always worth listening to. This excellent collection of original essays reflects his own rigorous but sometimes puckish spirit. It captures the range and zest of a man who has been one of the great contributors to U.S. foreign policy for almost half a century. Like the man, Zbig offers both history and insights for the future.
—Robert B. Zoellick, former president of the World Bank Group, U.S. Trade Representative, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State

Potentially quite important. I especially like the division into sections that capture the different dimensions and phases of Brzezinski's career—from academic to policy maker to policy advocate—and concluding with a series of portraits of Brzezinski by those who worked with him.
—Robert J. McMahon, Mershon Center for International Security Studies, Ohio State University

Robert B. Zoellick

Zbig Brzezinski's influence on American foreign policy—as a practitioner, adviser, writer, teacher—has been consistently pointed, with a sharp analytical edge, and directed to the heart of the matter. Whether or not one agrees with Zbig, he is always worth listening to. This excellent collection of original essays reflects his own rigorous but sometimes puckish spirit. It captures the range and zest of a man who has been one of the great contributors to U.S. foreign policy for almost half a century. Like the man, Zbig offers both history and insights for the future.

Jessica T. Mathews

There is no sharper, clearer, more strategic thinker alive today than Zbig Brzezinski. This fascinating book brings that label to life, adding color, depth, personality and values to his incisive mind. It is history, biography, and very nearly a how-to book on thinking strategically.

Robert J. McMahon

Potentially quite important. I especially like the division into sections that capture the different dimensions and phases of Brzezinski's career—from academic to policy maker to policy advocate—and concluding with a series of portraits of Brzezinski by those who worked with him.

Editorial Reviews

10/01/2013
Zbigniew Brzezinski is best known for his service as President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser over 30 years ago. Yet he continues to be a force today, advising President Obama's administration and serving on various boards as well as being an Osgood Professor of American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies. Known for his fearlessness in interpersonal confrontation, "Zbig" has had a strong hand in foreign policy matters especially regarding China, Iran, and Russia, often going against the mind-set of those in his own Democratic party (e.g., Cyrus Vance, President Carter's secretary of state). The 17 contributing essayists here include Warren I. Cohen (history, emeritus, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore) and the late Nancy Bernkopf Tucker (formerly, Sch. of Foreign Svc., Georgetown Univ.), East Asia specialists who criticize Zbig for his disregard of human rights issues in China. On the other hand, contributors who are former National Security Council staffers tend simply to offer praise of their former boss. Editor Gati (senior fellow, Foreign Policy Inst.) ends the book with his own interview of his subject. VERDICT This set of new pieces will fill a gap in material on Brzezinski in serious political science collections.—Krista Bush, Shelton, CT

Library Journal

A highly readable volume of reflections on the legendary Cold Warrior by academics, journalists and Brzezinski's colleagues that nonetheless avoids the dryness of a classical academic tract. . . A welcome addition to the field of political science, simultaneously being a portrait of a complex, intellectually rigorous, and self-confident Polish-American academic and national security advisor in the Carter administration, as well as a reflection upon American foreign policy in the post-war era.
—New Eastern Europe

Zbig is an informative and challenging introduction to Zbigniew Brzezinski . . . For armchair enthusiasts and those struggling to unravel the complicated issues of international affairs and foreign policy, Zbig is a good place to start.
—New York Journal of Books

This biography tells us a lot not just about Zbig but about America’s own checkered history in Brzezinski’s lifetime.
—Campaign for the American Reader

Will fill a gap on Brzezinski in serious political science collections.
—Library Journal

Captures his extraordinary insights into international politics as well as his commitment to a morally inspired political realism. It will be read with great satisfaction . . . The editor and the contributors ought to be commended for their superb accomplishment.
—International Affairs

Part biography, personal reflection, history, and policy analysis, this expertly compiled book provides a fascinating insight into the private and public worlds of one of the foremost architects of American foreign policy in the twentieth century, and indeed today. . . This is no small achievement, as the book is easily one of the best retrospectives of a public figure in recent years. . . Gati's lengthy and detailed interview with Brzezinski (a recollection of sorts) permits the reader the direct insight of the man himself following the various accounts of the contributors. It's an exceptional feature in what otherwise would still have been a first-rate profile. . . The book is easy to return to, and hard to put down. . . Skillfully edited, relentlessly referenced, and well composed, this should be essential reading for any observer (academic or otherwise) of American politics and foreign policy.
—Russian Review

Zbig: The Strategy and Statecraft of Zbigniew Brzezinski is a valuable contribution to the field of U.S. foreign policy history since 1945 because of Zbig the intellectual, the policy-maker, and the commentator. . . Brzezinski's role as a Cold War scholar and intellectual, the descriptions of how it was to work (and study) under him, and his elder statesmanship as delineated in Zbig add to the study of not only Zbig himself but U.S. foreign relations in general.
—Benedict von Bremen, Sehepunkte

Charles Gati has produced a valuable, informative book that examines the many facets of Brzezinski's life and works and seeks to place the man, his era, and his writings within the broader context of the United States, along with its adversaries and partners, adapting to a changing world.
—Journal of Cold War Studies

Dozens of books have been written about Henry Kissinger, America's master diplomat during the cold war. Until now, none has appeared in English about Kissinger's great rival and sparring partner, Zbigniew Brzezinski . . . [Zbig is] long overdue.
—Financial Times

This is a rich and much- deserved presentation of Brzezinski’s accomplishments.
—The Polish Review

From the Publisher

Zbig is an informative and challenging introduction to Zbigniew Brzezinski . . . For armchair enthusiasts and those struggling to unravel the complicated issues of international affairs and foreign policy, Zbig is a good place to start.

New York Journal of Books

Zbig: The Strategy and Statecraft of Zbigniew Brzezinski is a valuable contribution to the field of U.S. foreign policy history since 1945 because of Zbig the intellectual, the policy-maker, and the commentator. . . Brzezinski's role as a Cold War scholar and intellectual, the descriptions of how it was to work (and study) under him, and his elder statesmanship as delineated in Zbig add to the study of not only Zbig himself but U.S. foreign relations in general.

Sehepunkte - Benedict von Bremen

This biography tells us a lot not just about Zbig but about America’s own checkered history in Brzezinski’s lifetime.

Campaign for the American Reader

Charles Gati has produced a valuable, informative book that examines the many facets of Brzezinski's life and works and seeks to place the man, his era, and his writings within the broader context of the United States, along with its adversaries and partners, adapting to a changing world.

Journal of Cold War Studies

Part biography, personal reflection, history, and policy analysis, this expertly compiled book provides a fascinating insight into the private and public worlds of one of the foremost architects of American foreign policy in the twentieth century, and indeed today. . . This is no small achievement, as the book is easily one of the best retrospectives of a public figure in recent years. . . Gati's lengthy and detailed interview with Brzezinski (a recollection of sorts) permits the reader the direct insight of the man himself following the various accounts of the contributors. It's an exceptional feature in what otherwise would still have been a first-rate profile. . . The book is easy to return to, and hard to put down. . . Skillfully edited, relentlessly referenced, and well composed, this should be essential reading for any observer (academic or otherwise) of American politics and foreign policy.

Russian Review

Dozens of books have been written about Henry Kissinger, America's master diplomat during the cold war. Until now, none has appeared in English about Kissinger's great rival and sparring partner, Zbigniew Brzezinski . . . [Zbig is] long overdue.

Financial Times

This is a rich and much- deserved presentation of Brzezinski’s accomplishments.

The Polish Review

A highly readable volume of reflections on the legendary Cold Warrior by academics, journalists and Brzezinski's colleagues that nonetheless avoids the dryness of a classical academic tract. . . A welcome addition to the field of political science, simultaneously being a portrait of a complex, intellectually rigorous, and self-confident Polish-American academic and national security advisor in the Carter administration, as well as a reflection upon American foreign policy in the post-war era.

New Eastern Europe

Captures his extraordinary insights into international politics as well as his commitment to a morally inspired political realism. It will be read with great satisfaction . . . The editor and the contributors ought to be commended for their superb accomplishment.

International Affairs

"Dozens of books have been written about Henry Kissinger, America's master diplomat during the cold war. Until now, none has appeared in English about Kissinger's great rival and sparring partner, Zbigniew Brzezinski... [Zbig is] long overdue."

Financial Times

Part biography, personal reflection, history, and policy analysis, this expertly compiled book provides a fascinating insight into the private and public worlds of one of the foremost architects of American foreign policy in the twentieth century, and indeed today... This is no small achievement, as the book is easily one of the best retrospectives of a public figure in recent years... Gati's lengthy and detailed interview with Brzezinski (a recollection of sorts) permits the reader the direct insight of the man himself following the various accounts of the contributors. It's an exceptional feature in what otherwise would still have been a first-rate profile... The book is easy to return to, and hard to put down... Skillfully edited, relentlessly referenced, and well composed, this should be essential reading for any observer (academic or otherwise) of American politics and foreign policy.

Russian Review - George A. MacLean

Captures his extraordinary insights into international politics as well as his commitment to a morally inspired political realism. It will be read with great satisfaction... The editor and the contributors ought to be commended for their superb accomplishment.

International Affairs - Vladimir Tismaneanu

A highly readable volume of reflections on the legendary Cole Warrior by academics, journalists and Brzezinski's colleagues that nonetheless avoids the dryness of a classical academic tract... A welcome addition to the field of political science, simultaneously being a portrait of a complex, intellectually rigorous, and self-confident Polish-American academic and national security advisor in the Carter administration, as well as a reflection upon American foreign policy in the post-war era.

New Eastern Europe - Filip Mazurczak

This biography tells us a lot not just about Zbig but about America’s own checkered history in Brzezinski’s lifetime.

Campaign for the American Reader - Ray Taras

Zbig is an informative and challenging introduction to Zbigniew Brzezinski... For armchair enthusiasts and those struggling to unravel the complicated issues of international affairs and foreign policy, Zbig is a good place to start.

New York Journal of Books - Karl Wolff