Zbigniew Brzezinski

America's decline would set in motion tectonic shifts undermining the political stability of the entire Middle East.

Because America is a democracy, public support for presidential foreign-policy decisions is essential.

We can't have an intelligent foreign policy unless we have an intelligent public, because we're a democracy.

I draw a very clear distinction between populism and democracy.

Fear obscures reason, intensifies emotions, and makes it easier for demagogic politicians to mobilize the public on behalf of the policies they want to pursue.

I do think America has made it quite clear that it is in the interest both of America and China to avoid situations in which they will be pushed toward a collision.

The financial catastrophe of 2008 nearly precipitated a calamitous economic depression, jolting America and much of the West into a sudden recognition of their systemic vulnerability to unregulated greed.

The fact of the matter is the Arab elites are more inclined to accommodate our wishes because of certain overlapping interests that are often financial. That is not the case with the Arab masses.

Not to mention the fact that of course terrorists hate freedom. I think they do hate. But believe me, I don't think they sit there abstractly hating freedom.

Both World War II and the subsequent Cold War gave America's involvement in world affairs a clear focus. The objectives of foreign policy were relatively easy to define, and they could be imbued with high moral content.

Being a former first lady doesn't prepare you to be president.

Eurasia is home to most of the world's politically assertive and dynamic states.