Hidden Forces US Grand Strategy & the Revenge of Geopolitics | Edward Luce
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Apr 20, 2026 
Edward Luce, Financial Times columnist and author on geopolitics, offers sharp analysis of US grand strategy and the return of geopolitics. He traces post-Cold War strategic drift. He explores how recent American politics reshaped risk, process, and alliances. He highlights the central tension in US–China relations and the challenges of managing great-power competition.
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Post Cold War Hubris Lost A Strategic Window
- The 1990s squandered a strategic opportunity after the Cold War by assuming history had ended and expecting universal adoption of Western models.
- Edward Luce says hubris and a failure to learn about other societies prevented building partnerships and reforming institutions for a multipolar 21st century.
Brzezinski Diaries Opened A Unique Source
- Luce received access to Zbigniew Brzezinski's extensive dictaphone diaries covering his time as national security advisor.
- The family insisted on no redactions, which allowed Luce to write a detailed full-life biography with fresh primary material.
Strategic Debate Died Not From Lack Of Brains
- Washington now has abundant expertise but much lower demand for bold strategic debate compared with the Cold War era.
- Luce attributes this to risk-averse think-tank culture and political constraints that reward process over entrepreneurial, controversial thinking.
