In chapter 4 of ‘The Grand Chessboard’ (1997), Zbigniew Brzezinski discusses the void of power in the former Soviet territory after the collapse of USSR. The material and analysis is very dated. For one, President Yeltsin was sTILl in power when this chapter is written. Current Russian administration bears little resemblance to Yeltsin’s government.

A lot of subjective wishes as to what Russian should do or not.

In chapter 3 of ‘The Grand Chessboard’ (1997), Zbigniew Brzezinski discusses the role of France and Germany in the EU, and predicted EU’s possible path of further eastward integration. If Ukraine is accepted into EU, a new European core will be formed: France + Germany + Poland + Ukraine.

You can see why Russia is so anxious about Ukraine.

The belief that Saint Peter was given special authority by Christ that has since passed on to each Pope. The Archbishop of Rome (i.e. the Pope) was in direct apostolic lineage back to Saint Peter

From ‘The Grand Chessboard’ (1997) by Zbigniew Brzezinski,

*The political momentum for Europe’s unification was once driven by three main impulses: the memories of the destructive two world wars, the desire for economic recovery, and the insecurity generated by the Soviet threat. By the mid-nineties, however, these impulses had faded. Economic recovery by and large has been achieved; if anything, the problem Europe increasingly faces is that of an excessively burdensome welfare system that is sapping its economic vitality, while the passionate resistance to any reform by special interests is diverting European political attention inward. *

“An excessively burdensome welfare system” is probably the root cause of the current debt crisis in eurozone

Use currentTitle to obtain the caption title of a UIButton