Intellectual biography of Zbigniew Brzezinski: the author’s experience of the historical source base development and historical sources analysis
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2026.162.8
Keywords:
Zbigniew Brzezinski, historical sources, international strategy, intellectual biographyAbstract
Background. The interest to the study of the intellectual biographies of international strategists, among whom was Z.Brzezinski, has risen substantially. The experience of the historical sources base development and historical sources analyses pertinent to the writing of Brzezinski’s intellectual biography may be of major interest for the scholars.
Methods. Objective analysis, systematization, historian’s epistemological approaches assessment, content analysis, historical sources typologization, comparative historical methods were used.
Results. The historical sources, relevant to the study of life, activities and international strategic heritage of Brzezinski, can be divided into seven groups. His academic and analytic works comprise the first one, US executive branch documents – the second one, memoirs, diaries, public presentations, academic works of the statesmen and politicians – the third one, research interviews taken from Brzezinski and certain political figures – the fourth one, epistolographic – the fifth one, Brzezinski’s commentaries in the Twitter – the six one, public opinion polls, media materials, audio and video materials – the seventh one. The historical sources base pertinent to the study of different aspects of Brzezinski’s life, as E.Luce’s monograph proves it, still has potential to be enriched . However the British author’s access to the complete texts of Brzezinski’s diaries did not result in the changes in our knowledge of the intellectual history of the person in question.
Conclusions. Despite the tangible results have been achieved in the field of the problem in question, new openings in its source base remain on the scholarly agenda. Historians’ own efforts, aimed at the enriching of the source base by taking research interviews, appear to be promising from the scholarly point of view. On the other hand, the existing historical sources retain potential for their new interpretation. New openings in some governmental archival collections, anticipated but being off limits of our prognostic possibilities, also may contribute to the deepening of our expertise in the field.
Keywords: Zbigniew Brzezinski, historical sources, international strategy, intellectual biography
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