Dr. Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion and a senior advisor at Macro Advisory Partners. He is the author, co-author, or editor of many books, including, The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World (2025); The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age, Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China (2022), co-authored with Michael Beckley, The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today (2022), The Lessons of Tragedy: Statecraft and World Order (2019) co-authored with Charles Edel, American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump (2018), Making the Unipolar Moment: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Rise of the Post-Cold War Order (2016), What Good is Grand Strategy? Power and Purpose in American Statecraft from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush (2014), Latin America’s Cold War (2010), From Berlin to Baghdad: America’s Search for Purpose in the Post-Cold War World (2008), and The Power of the Past: History and Statecraft (co-edited with Jeremi Suri, 2015). In addition, his work has been published in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and many other outlets.
Hal has previously served as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Strategic Planning, a member of the Secretary of State's Foreign Affairs Policy Board, and lead writer for the Commission on the National Defense Strategy for the United States. He has consulted with government offices and agencies in the intelligence and national security communities.
Hal has spoken on geopolitics and foreign affairs to audiences—in government, in academia, and in the private sector—around the world.
Commissioner Brands was appointed by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell for a term expiring December 31, 2026.