Brendan Simms

On this episode of Reaganism, Roger sits down with historian Brendan Simms to discuss his new book The Return of the Great Powers and the resurgence of great-power competition. Simms explains how resources, global reach, reputation and resilience help define a great power, and explores how history shapes Russia’s ambitions and its underestimation of Ukraine’s independence. They also consider the roles of the U.S., China, Russia and their allies, and the risk that conflicts in Europe and the Indo-Pacific could become interconnected.

From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the struggle for supremacy in Europe and the Americas, while in the East, it encompassed those vying for control over the successor states to Genghis Khan’s empire. Between 1989 and the year 2000, Great Power rivalry temporarily gave way to globalization, with liberal democracy on the march and national chauvinism seemingly in retreat. But events of the past decade have made one thing abundantly clear: The Great Powers are back. In T...

From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the struggle for supremacy in Europe and the Americas, while in the East, it encompassed those vying for control over the successor states to Genghis Khan’s empire. Between 1989 and the year 2000, Great Power rivalry temporarily gave way to globalization, with liberal democracy on the march and national chauvinism seemingly in retreat. But events of the past decade have made one thing abundantly clear: The Great Powers are back. In T...

From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the struggle for supremacy in Europe and the Americas, while in the East, it encompassed those vying for control over the successor states to Genghis Khan’s empire. Between 1989 and the year 2000, Great Power rivalry temporarily gave way to globalization, with liberal democracy on the march and national chauvinism seemingly in retreat. But events of the past decade have made one thing abundantly clear: The Great Powers are back. In The Return of the Great Powers (Basic Books, 2026), renowned historian Brendan Simms offers a new history of the rise, fall, and return of the Great Powers in our time. He shows that over the past ten years or so, the major global actors have already resumed making decisions based on geopolitical rather than global economic considerations. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the struggle for supremacy in Europe and the Americas, while in the East, it encompassed those vying for control over the successor states to Genghis Khan’s empire. Between 1989 and the year 2000, Great Power rivalry temporarily gave way to globalization, with liberal democracy on the march and national chauvinism seemingly in retreat. But events of the past decade have made one thing abundantly clear: The Great Powers are back. In The Return of the Great Powers (Basic Books, 2026), renowned historian Brendan Simms offers a new history of the rise, fall, and return of the Great Powers in our time. He shows that over the past ten years or so, the major global actors have already resumed making decisions based on geopolitical rather than global economic considerations. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the struggle for supremacy in Europe and the Americas, while in the East, it encompassed those vying for control over the successor states to Genghis Khan’s empire. Between 1989 and the year 2000, Great Power rivalry temporarily gave way to globalization, with liberal democracy on the march and national chauvinism seemingly in retreat. But events of the past decade have made one thing abundantly clear: The Great Powers are back. In The Return of the Great Powers (Basic Books, 2026), renowned historian Brendan Simms offers a new history of the rise, fall, and return of the Great Powers in our time. He shows that over the past ten years or so, the major global actors have already resumed making decisions based on geopolitical rather than global economic considerations. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

From the dawn of the modern era to the end of the Cold War, global history was defined by rivalries between Great Powers. In the West, this meant the struggle for supremacy in Europe and the Americas, while in the East, it encompassed those vying for control over the successor states to Genghis Khan’s empire. Between 1989 and the year 2000, Great Power rivalry temporarily gave way to globalization, with liberal democracy on the march and national chauvinism seemingly in retreat. But events of the past decade have made one thing abundantly clear: The Great Powers are back. In The Return of the Great Powers (Basic Books, 2026), renowned historian Brendan Simms offers a new history of the rise, fall, and return of the Great Powers in our time. He shows that over the past ten years or so, the major global actors have already resumed making decisions based on geopolitical rather than global economic considerations. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Brendan Simms is Professor of the History of International Relations at the University of Cambridge and the author of The Return of the Great Powers. He challenges the widespread belief that Britain is in terminal decline, arguing that the UK remains one of the world’s four true Great Powers. In the main episode, Brendan explained why Britain’s resources, global reach, reputation and resilience still give it significant international influence. He also argued that great power politics has returned as the dominant force shaping global affairs. In this special Q&A, Brendan answers your questions on what steps Britain needs to take to stay relevant, whether its military is fit for purpose, and whether our soft power is overlooked. - WhatsApp: 0330 123 9480 - Email: radical@bbc.co.uk Episodes of Radical are released every Thursday and Monday. Series Producer: Rufus Gray Producers: Nathan Gower and Ivana Davidovic Digital Producer: Joe Wilkinson Technical Producer: Jonny Baker Senior News Editor: Sam Bonham

Bleary-eyed, scrambled, and in need of a second overpriced venti black coffee, Jonah Goldberg speaks with Brendan Simms, a Cambridge Don-guy who wears fancy belts, about his new book, Return of the Great Powers, which discusses how the Russia-Ukraine war sparked how the Russia-Ukraine War prompted the West to act, China’s potential defeat if Russia loses, Trump as a mob boss, and technology as a driver of cultural change. Show Notes: — Brendan Simms: Return of the Great Powers — Brendan Simms: Donald Trump: The Making of a Worldview — Francis Fukuyama: The End of History and the Last Man — Simms’ About Page The Remnant is a production of ⁠The Dispatch⁠ , a digital media company covering politics, policy, and culture from a nonpartisan perspective. To access all of The Dispatch ’s offerings—including the Saturday Ruminant , audio versions of all our articles and newsletters, and Jonah’s twice-weekly G-File — ⁠click here⁠ . Instructions on how to set up your members-only feed can be found here , and if you’d like to remove all ads from your podcast experience, consider becoming a premium Dispatch member ⁠by clicking here⁠ . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Liberal Europe Podcast, Leszek Jażdżewski (Fundacja Liberté!) welcomes Brendan Simms, Director of the Centre for Geopolitics and Professor of the History of European International Relations of the University of Cambridge. They talk about a wider context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the lessons learnt from Hitler’s victories and miscalculations of WW2, the role of the transatlantic alliance in the conflict, and the global implications of the war. Find out more about the guest: https://www.cfg.polis.cam.ac.uk/directory/brendan-simms Check out Professor Simms' recent book "Hitler: A Global Biography" (2019): https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/hitler-global-biography This podcast is produced by the European Liberal Forum in collaboration with Movimento Liberal Social and Fundacja Liberté!, with the financial support of the European Parliament. Neither the European Parliament nor the European Liberal Forum are responsible for the content or for any use that be made of it.

Links 1. " The Silver Waterfall: How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway ," by Brendan Simms and Steven McGregor, PublicAffairs, May 17, 2022. 2. " The Importance of the Battle of Midway ," by Tom Hone, War on the Rocks, September 12, 2013. 3. Battle of Midway - Naval History and Heritage Command. 4. Steven McGregor website. 5. Brendan Simms faculty profile.

This Week on History Happy Hour: The Battle of Midway, eighty years ago next month, marked a turning point in the Pacific war. In the space of just five minutes, American dive bombers inflicted cataclysmic damage on a much larger Japanese Fleet. The seemingly improbable victory is sometimes referred to as a miracle. But it was much more than luck – years of effort led to the moment of victor. Chris and Rick welcome HHH Alumnus Brendan Simms and his co-author Steven McGregor, to talk about their new book The Silver Waterfall: How America Won the War in the Pacific at Midway. Discover how a culture of innovation, contributions by immigrants and a vital intelligence coup helped win the day at Midway. Sunday at 4PM ET on History Happy Hour, where history is always on tap.. BRENDAN SIMMS is a professor in the history of international relations and a fellow at the University of Cambridge. He is the author of many books, and appeared on History Happy Hour in December to talk about the book Hitler’s American Gamble. He lives in Cambridge, UK. STEVEN MCGREGOR deployed to the Sunni Triangle of Death as an Infantry Officer in the 101st Airborne Division. There he earned the Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Purple Heart. After his military service, he moved to England and completed post-graduate studies in History. This is his first book.