I am only an academic, so the pressures of command on me are somewhat lesser, but like General Eisenhower I dare not claim credit for every idea in this book. I am a double-hatted academic, dividing my time between Ghent University and a think-tank, the Egmont–Royal Institute for International Relations in Brussels. That privileged position puts me in permanent contact with a wide variety of interesting people: students and faculty at my own and other universities; colleagues in think-tanks in Europe, the Americas, and Asia; and military officers, diplomats and officials working for the European Union, NATO, and their member states, and the various states represented in Brussels, the diplomatic capital of Europe. I am indebted to a great many colleagues from these various communities, many of whom have become friends, for sharing their insights. Our ongoing discussions serve to generate ideas and to sharpen my thinking. More often than not, the most stimulating discussions take place over a glass or a meal. We Belgians adhere to the dictum of Napoleon's foreign minister, Talleyrand: ‘Good dinners make for good reporting’.

Fortified though I may feel for being a member of this inspiring community, writing a book on the big topic of the grand strategies of and relations between the United States, China, Russia and the EU remains a risky undertaking. I certainly do not pretend to be an expert on all of these players and all of their policies. For a start, I speak neither Chinese nor Russian. The key primary documents, such as a national security strategy, are available in English, but I can only scratch the surface of the rich intellectual debate that is going on within both countries, of which the English-language publications by Chinese and Russian scholars offer but a glimpse.