“主权欧洲”：欧盟向“硬实力”转型？（英文）

正Profound changes unseen in a century,especially the transformation of the international order and global structure,have shattered the foundation of the European Union's international leverage and reshaped its global status profoundly,forcing it to search for a new foreign strategy.Numerous challenges against multilateralism have undermined the institutional basis on which     

Strategic Impact of Brexit

Following Brexit, major changes are expected in the UK, the EU, and the relationship between the two, with far-reaching strategic effects on international politics that may develop truly unexpected aspects.Beyond the near-term challenges, the UK is likely to face new developmental opportunities in the long run. The internal power balance in the EU will undergo major changes, possibly leading to progress in diplomacy and defense but with increased internal suspicions, leading to a series of new contradictions. Regardless of its success, Brexit will long trouble the EU. A troubled UK may come to resent the EU, but it is also possible that a well-developed UK will create a development model that is different from those of the EU member states, setting an example for other members considering revaluating their relationship to the EU. The resulting instability may even change it to a free trade area. The UK is an important country, with global influence. Changes in UK-EU relations will have profound geopolitical consequences, and we can expect great changes in UK-American, European-American, UK-Russian, and European-Russian relations and larger relations between East and West. The competition and cooperation among major countries will gain complexity. Due to its close relationships with the UK and the EU, China will also be extensively and profoundly affected.     

An Analysis of China's Power Status and International Standing

Many Chinese scholars have described China as the world＇s second biggest power after the U.S.. This is based on two facts. First, China overtook Japan in total economic output measured by GDP in 2010 to become the world＇s second biggest economy. Some scholars argue that China still lags behind the U.S. in comprehensive national power and in this sense it is also ranked second） The other is that Sino-U.S. relations are frequently described as the rise and fall of big powers, especially when referring to the Asia-Pacific region. It is the latest example of how relations between a rising power and one struggling to maintain its status have been so complex in the long history of international relations. While many people talk about the possibility that China will overtake the U.S. in the future, others talk about a G2.2 If we look closely at global trends and changes to China＇ s international environment, if we examine what exactly we mean by power status, we will have a much deeper understanding of China＇ s current power status from which we can build a solid foundation for this country＇ s foreign strategy and diplomacy.     

9/11 and Global Strategic Stability

In the past ten years since 9/11, terrorism has become a growing threat to international security, and to people’s lives and property. Increasing incidents of terrorism have underlined the fundamental structural flaws in the international system, showing that American hegemony has reached a certain limit. Not only have the major security concerns of the United States changed, but existing international strategic relations have also been shaken. This has directly affected global strategic stability.     

Thinking on the Theory of "China’s Century"

As China’s economy and global influence increase,its international relations are quickly changing.As more credence is given to predictions of a"China Century"to follow the"American Century,"interest is also increasing in the adjustments China is making to its strategic diplomacy as it prepares to take the first chair from the United States.The conceptual innovation in China’s diplomacy in 2014 is a significant harbinger in the eyes of many as to how this China Century will shape up.While China’s new diplomacy is praised,opinion differs on its future intentions.After a series of proposals were put forward at summit meetings of CICA(Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in     

新时代中国海洋维权理念与实践

As China is ushering in a new era of national development,the global environment is becoming increasingly volatile.Faced with a complex situation in the adjacent maritime waters,the leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC),with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core,has put forward a farsighted and important strategic plan to transform China into a maritime power,including a series of concepts and practices specifically intended to safeguard China’s maritime rights and interests in the new era.A comprehensive analysis and summary of these concepts and practices will not only clarify what these rights and interests are,but it also bears theoretical and practical significance to correctly understand the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Xi Jinping Thought on Diplomacy,and better safeguard China’s maritime rights and interests.     

Europe-Africa Relations in Transition： From Dependence to Equals？

For a long time, relations between the European Union and Africa are not on an equal footing. As early as half a century ago, the European Community, predecessor of the EU, drove the former colonies of some member states into a framework of “special relationship” with the Community and established a system to keep them dependent on their former European suzerains through unequal trade and aid. Most of those countries that were driven into the system were African states. Such a system demonstrated the one-way control by the developed European countries over the developing African countries. With the continuous improvement of Africa＇s strategic position, ever since 2005, the EU, for its own economic and security interests, has issued with great fanfare policy documents on Africa, adjusting its policy toward the continent and proposing to make the “equal political partnership” between the EU and Africa as the primary objective of its Africa policy. However, due to historical and realistic reasons, it is not easy to achieve genuine equality between the EU and Africa; to make it a reality, colossal efforts have to be made.     

ASEAN and the Major Powers： New Ties of Transnational Integration

ASEAN, whose international prestige grew as a result of its diplomatic role in 1970s, can be seen as providing a model for linking the very disparate states of the Asia-Pacific region in a common association. The centrality of ASEAN to any attempt to build regional institutions was strengthened by clashes of interest between the major powers. In order to protect its own strategic interests, ASEAN has established mechanisms of economic and security cooperation with the EU and the United States since the end of Cold War. After September 11, the cooperation between ASEAN and the US has become much more extensive than before on both regional and global levels. Sino-EU-US triangular relationships have had a significant influence on ASEAN relations with these powers in the new century.     

The EU’s Foreign Policy Under Debt Crisis

Under the impact of the sovereign debt crisis, the European Union pays less attention to its foreign policy and the Common Foreign Policy tends to be "renationalized"; the EU is again embracing "geo-economics" with an enhanced tendency of highlighting economic ties and trade in its external relations; EU countries have greatly cut their defence expenditures, making it more difficult to implement the EU’s Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) in future. The author holds that the prospects of economic growth in the Eurozone countries, European integration under the pressure of structural changes in international relations, and competition and collaboration in a multiple structure of foreign policy establishments are combined to shape the EU’s foreign policy in the coming years.     

Analysis of the Current Situation in North Africa ＆ the Middle East

After the upsurge of domestic turmoil in Tunis last December,unrest spread rapidly through North Africa and the Middle East,having a profound effect on current international relations.It will continue to affect relations between the major powers and the international system as a whole for some time to come.The regional turmoil of North Africa and the Middle East is of particular interest to International Political Economy(IPE)studies.It seems to embody a geostrategic conflict between the US and the EU in contending for leadership in North Africa and the Middle East.It is also an expression of the competition for dominance of the global financial structure between the major powers during a period of transition in the international system.Lastly,it is a manifestation of America’s struggle to maintain its global economic hegemony.     

China＇s International Orientation in the Fast- Changing International Situation

The financial crisis is having a great impact on the worldeconomic and political structure. At the same time, it has brought important opportunities to China, a country in a crucial stage of development. The crisis has demonstrated China＇s importance and positive role in international economy, and provided it with favorable conditions to enhance its international influence and status.     

The Rise of the Far Right in Europe and the Refugee Crisis

The rise of the far right in Europe has captured the attention of the international community in recent years.Its specific features are:an unprecedentedly strong influence,an obvious trend towards the moderate line,horizontal collaboration to expand its reach,and a very adept use of social media networks.The refugee crisis has given the far right an historical opportunity.The rise has also had a profound effect on European politics;it has deepened the political divide inside EU member states,and shaken up the traditional political values and the foundation of the union.The rise of the far right will likely not change Europe's political landscape,but problems of EU governance over its handling of the refugee crisis cannot be ignored.     

China＇s Foreign Strategy： Constantly Deepening and Broadening

China has been constantly deepening and broadening foreign strategy in accordance with the changes of the world situation. With the Fourth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth CPC Central Committee, the Eleventh Diplomatic Envoy Conference and the Central Economic Working Conference as opportunities, the CPC Central Committee has made a series of new explanations and judgements on China＇s foreign strategy in the new era. China＇s external work has also entered a new period of great development. China has made substantial progress in countering the international financial crisis, promoting global issues such as climate change, maintaining the steady development of relations with major global powers and solidifying its strategy of reliance on surrounding countries. China＇s international status and influence has scaled new heights.     

EU''s Plight, Changes and Their Impacts

On the stages of international politics and economics, the European Union (EU) is a key player, and its development has great impact on the global political and economic setup. In 2005, the "constitutional crisis" occurred in the EU, the fruits of European economic integration, which once was thought irreversible, like the Single European Market and the united currency of euro, now also might fall apart.     

The Difficulties of Common Security: On the Need for Value Consensus as a Basis for International Security

The essence of international security is common security, which relies heavily on basic consensus on security concepts and strategies among nations. However, since the beginning of the 20 th century, such a consensus or value basis has become very “thin” as a result of the following four factors: the inception of the global international system along with its cultural diversity; the great changes in political, economic and military arenas; the rise of nationalism and popular politics; and the emergence of superpowers and their antagonistic ideologies. Within strategic culture, there is juxtaposition between confrontational culture and cooperative culture. In security concepts, people have different preferences for national, international or global security. In terms of security strategies, there exist several competing models such as hegemonic stability, balance of power and institutional cooperation. The primary aims of international security remain: avoiding major wars, maintaining the stability of the international system and safeguarding the integrity of the nations. There are two new challenges: promoting global economic justice to avoid any domestic or international conflicts caused by an imbalanced international economic order; and meeting the challenges of various non-conventional security issues affecting human life on a global scale. In an era of security interdependence, the international community must make joint efforts to rebuild the consensus on security in light of the fundamental values of common security and cooperative security, and to practice a truly “international” security strategy so as to break away from the security dilemmas inflicted by each nation’s reliance on its own self-help and competing “national” security strategy.     

China's International Influence

China’s rise is accompanied by a corresponding growth in its international influence. Not only does this kind of influence have its roots in history and imagination,but it is also an inevitable result of China’s growing strength and economy over the past few decades.It is difficult to accurately quantify a country’s international influence.China’s growing international influence has its own distinct characteristics,marked by the country’s unique national interests.A more influential China is not only good for China’s own development;it is also good for the world.     

Evolvement of New China＇s Relations with Other Developing Countries

China＇s relationship with other developing countries is an important basis for China＇s foreign strategy. Since its founding, New China has accumulated complex experience and achieved rich fruits in how to handle and develop its relations with other developing countries. It has experienced contradictions between ideology and national identity and also made strenuous efforts to safeguard the country＇s strategic independence. Since the introduction of the reform and opening-up policy, China has rapidly enhanced its national strength, providing a new platform for it to play a greater role in the current international system. But China＇s identity as a developing country remains the starting point of its foreign strategy, and hence promoting and consolidating its relationship with other developing countries will also remain as China＇s strategic choice.     

The Future of the EU and Sino-EU Relations

Since the end of 2009,sovereign debt crises have erupted one after the other in Greece,Ireland,Portugal and Spain.Until now,the EU has not been able to keep this run of debt crises in check.Anxieties over the future of the European Union and the eurozone are mounting.American historian Walter Laquer has argued that economic decline,diplomatic weakness,and internal tensions could lead to the collapse of the EU.1 Philip Stephens,columnist for the Financial Times,wrote:"At the opening of the millennium the European Union seemed a confident role model.The assumption was that the postmodern multilateralism symbolized by the euro would be exported to rising nations and regions.Now there are questions as to whether Europe itself can hold together."2 This paper aims to understand the current situation and the future of the EU by examining the European sovereign debt crisis and its socio-political impact on European integration.It also analyzes the reasons behind the worsening of the debt crisis,the future of European integration,and China's policy toward Europe.     

NATO＇s Strategic Readjustment

In April 2009, the NATO Strasbourg-Kehl Summit adopted a series of joint declarations and strategic plans, demonstrating that NATO is entering a new round of military-political strategic adjustment. NATO＇s new strategic direction has been motivated by various internal and external factors, including the pressure of the new international environment, the Obama administration＇s desire to upgrade strategic cooperation with its allies, the major European states represented by France and Germany seeking to strengthen the European pillar within NATO, and the urgent need to readjust NATO＇s external relations. The aim of the strategic readjustment is to advance NATO＇s military and political transformation from a regional collective defense organization into a more active and powerful Western military-political alliance. NATO is still facing a series of difficulties and challenges： the disappearance of the common threat of the Soviet bloc, the differing interests of the member states, and the fluctuation of real strength within the NATO will all impose constraints on NATO＇s development. Thus, there are still doubts and uncertainties about NATO＇s future role and position.     

Changes in the US National Security Council in the Trump Administration

The structure of the National Security Council(NSC)under Donald Trump has been tweaked only slightly on the basis of the previous administration’s"three tiers of committees"model,and without any breakthrough in reform.However,the NSC also faces a series of new changes and features,including instability caused by changes in the President’s entourage,and dysfunction induced by the decreased number of formal meetings.These changes may be attributed principally to the impact of Trump’s governing style,management style and informal decision-making process.The NSC’s role in the decision-making system varies according to the frequent changes in National Security Advisor.In the 70 plus year history of the NSC,it is evident that its development direction is determined by structural changes in the international pattern,US national security challenges and the transfer of power within the decision-making system.How the President positions and utilizes the NSC ultimately determines the structure and efficiency of the mechanism.