The Grand Chessboard

From one of America’s leading geopolitical thinkers, the classic treatise on America's strategic mission in the modern world

“The Grand Chessboard makes permanent contributions to the national debate over American foreign policy and power.”-Los Angeles Times

In this seminal work, celebrated political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski delivers a provocative, revolutionary geostrategy for American preeminence in the twenty-first century. The United States’ crucial task, he argues, is to become the sole political arbiter in Eurasia and prevent the emergence of any rival power threatening our material and diplomatic interests. The Eurasian landmass, home to the greatest part of the globe's population, natural resources, and economic activity, is the “grand chessboard” on which Brzezinski argues that America's supremacy will be ratified and challenged. With signature insight and lucidity, Brzezinski spans from the collapse of the Soviet Union to the Russo-Ukrainian War and the rise of China.

The Grand Chessboard is a landmark work, both in Brzezinski’s oeuvre and in the field of political science. It remains an essential, powerful blueprint for protecting America's most vital interests in Eurasia and beyond.