The Instrumental Beliefs of Zbigniew Brzezinski

Abstract

Brzezinski’s notions regarding correct strategy and tactics vis-à-vis political adversaries, allies and the less-developed states were evident in his critiques of US foreign policy and, in particular, in those regarding its conceptualization and execution by the Nixon and Ford Administrations. While admitting that it “is an almost superhuman task” to shape and conduct a global foreign policy with long-term objectives clearly in sight in a setting of unprecedented domestic changes and a highly unpopular war,¹ in the summer of 1976 he declared:

The attendant danger of a philosophical isolation without precedent in American history has been accentuated by the new style and substance of U.S. foreign policy, especially as pursued by the Nixon administration … Covert, manipulative, and deceptive in style, it seemed committed to a largely static view of the world, based on a traditional balance of power, seeking accommodation among the major powers on the basis of spheres of influence, and more generally oriented toward preserving the status quo than reforming it. This further widened the gap that was opened already during the Vietnam war … and provided the emotional underpinnings for an increasingly hostile attitude abroad toward U.S. foreign policy.²