Realpolitik or Imperial Hubris: The Latin American Drug War and U.S. Foreign Policy in Iraq

Robert Kaplan has suggested that America employ elsewhere the same “stealth imperialism” tactics as are being used to combat drugs and guerrillas in Colombia. In fact, decades of U.S. efforts there have achieved little. The real lessons to be learned from Colombia are the perils of relying on flawed assumptions about the threat presented; the difficulties of creating and training a military capable of achieving U.S. objectives; and the risk of mistaking symbols, signals, and credibility for core U.S. interests. Moreover, in both regions, policymakers often fail to understand the fundamental sources of the conflict, particularly class, ethnicity, and nationalism. They incorrectly believe that U.S. policy has nothing to do with the continuation of the conflict and presume U.S. omnipotence.     

A New U.S.-Colombian Relationship: Transnational Crime and U.S. National Security

To fight transnational crime, the United States needs to strengthen its cooperation with Colombia. This initiative, according to the authors, will not only be cost-effective for the United States, it will also signal U.S. willingness to work “by, with and through” other states, and may make possible an expanded regional framework to act against the criminal cartels.     

The Anglo-Protestant Basis of U.S. Foreign Policy

U.S. foreign policy thinking is based ultimately on the particular historical experience and cultural legacy of the American founding, and at the very base of that founding is the preeminence of Anglo-Protestantism. The religious heritage of the United States, a sixteenth century blend of a theological reformation and the rise of modernity in the Enlightenment, has endowed American politics with a predisposition for egalitarian, anti-hierarchical, and contractual forms, and that disposition applies as well to foreign affairs. The syntax, but not the content, of Anglo-Protestantism shapes basic attitudes particularly when political elites face crisis situations, but it is institutionalized in government and society at all levels. Six examples from the post-World War II period illustrate the case.     

美国对外政策中的文化规范功能

冷战结束后 ,文化在国际关系和对外政策中的作用受到学者们的普遍关注。本文从文化的规范功能的角度出发 ,分析美国对外政策中的道义与利益及其关系。作者认为 ,文化的规范功能在对外政策中表现为文化限定了国家对外政策可选择的范围 ,只有符合或至少不悖于国家文化价值观的对外政策才会被社会民众所接受。对于美国这样一个既有浓厚的宗教信仰传统 ,又具有讲求实效的务实精神的国家 ,文化的规范功能在美国对外政策中体现为理想主义与现实主义的结合。理想主义为美国的对外政策赋予道义上的目标和意义 ,现实主义使道义目标在实施中符合美国的现实利益 ,美国历史上最成功的对外政策就是道义与利益的完美结合。     

Five Focuses of U.S. Foreign Policy

The U.S. Presidential campaign in 2004 revealed a phenomenon of high “polarization“ in American society, and it also exposed the sharp competition between the two political forces--liberal and conservative. Finally more of the constituency voted for Bush, hence Mr. Bush won re-election. This has not only changed the Bush family‘s fate of “winning a war but losing election,“ but also helped Bush clean up his psychological shadow of his “presidency“ decided by the Supreme Court in the last general election. As a “wartime president, undoubtedly Bush will become greater political confidence for his second term.……     

Five Focuses of U. S. Foreign Policy

The U.S.Presidential campaign in2004revealed a phenomenonof high"polarization"in American society,and it also exposed thesharp competition between the two political forces liberal and con-servative.Finally more of the constituency voted for Bush,hence Mr.Bush won re-election.This has not only changed the Bush family's fateof"winning a war but losing election,"but also helped Bush clean uphis psychological shadow of his"presidency"decided by the SupremeCourt in the last general election.As …     

美国对外战略的调整与中美关系

冷战后,由于亚太和中国在美国对外战略中地位的提升,以及美国明显加强在亚太地区的战略部署,中美关系进入了一个新的发展阶段.尽管"9.11"事件后,中美关系出现某些改善迹象,但仍没有改变美国亚太战略尤其是对华战略的基本布局和调整方向.     

美国与海湾国家的军火交易

2010年10月20日,美国奥巴马政府正式向国会提交了向沙特出售军火的一揽子计划,包括价值600亿美元的各类先进战机和直升机,并附加另外300亿美元的海军装备;同时,美国还向科威特、阿曼、阿联酋等海湾国家出售大量军火。此轮军售火交易,美国、海湾国家均有各自的现实与战略考虑,反映了美国与海湾国家间错综复杂的外交博弈。     

美国军工集团与中美关系

美国军工集团在美国政治特别是对华政策制定中具有举足轻重的作用。冷战结束以来 ,在鼓吹“中国威胁”、游说国会武力助台 ,以及向美国政府兜售反扩散“双重标准”等方面 ,都直接影响着美国政府的对华政策。     

国外机构评估美国经济走势综述

最近,国际货币基金组织(IMF)等机构网站公布了一系列研究报告,对美国经济短期走势和影响因素进行了分析。此外,报告还结合美国经济政策变动趋势对今明两年美国经济走势作出了预测。 一、美国经济短期走势 围绕美国经济短期走势问题,各机构主要就美国经济是否会陷入所谓“二次衰退”展开了争论。其中,认为美国经济正在缓慢复苏,不会陷入“二次衰退”的观点占据了上风。 (一)美国经济己走出衰退,目前正处于缓慢复苏之中。IMF认为,目前美国的商业周期已处于复苏阶段,今明两年美经济增长将逐步提速,国内生产总值(GDP)年增长率将由2002年的2.5％提高到2003年的3.3％。IMF概括的支撑美国经济复苏的     

思想库影响美外交政策的十大途径

思想库出“点子”影响政治领导人,造“主义”引导百姓,这就是美国思想库在政府政策酝酿、形成、决策、评估中起着举足轻重作用的真实写照。在某种程度上说,美国的思想库“似乎就是政府实实在在的一部分,总统的智囊对政府机构的影响甚至不如它们”。因此,有人把美国的立法、行政和司法称为三种权力,将媒体称为第四种权力,而思想库则是第五种权力。但也有人把思想库称为继立法、行政和司法之后的第四种权力。由此可见,美国思想库在政府决策制定中的影响之大。     

Understanding the Unilateralist Turn in U.S. Foreign Policy

How should we explain the recent unilateralist turn in U.S. foreign policy? Some accounts treat growing American unilateralism as a passing aberration attributable to the neoconservative ideology of the Bush administration. This paper, by contrast, traces U.S. unilateralism to the structural effects, at home and abroad, of the end of the Cold War. Internationally, the removal of the Soviet threat has undermined the "institutional bargain" that once guided relations between the U.S. and its major allies. Absent Cold War imperatives, the U.S. is less willing to provide collective goods through strong international institutions and other states are less likely to defer to U.S. demands for special privileges that exempt the U.S. from normal multilateral constraints. Domestically, the end of the Cold War has weakened the ability of presidents to resist the appeals of powerful veto players whose interests are threatened by multilateral commitments. These factors suggest that American unilateralism may have deeper roots and more staying power than many expect.     

U.S. Foreign Policy in Latin America: Time for a Change

This paper addresses why neoliberal policies of the United States have failed to spur broad-based economic development, and why they have not consolidated stable liberal democracy in Latin America. The author argues that the United States must reevaluate its foreign policy in order to accomplish its goals and maintain its influence in the region. This will mean engaging more moderate leftist leaders in Latin America and adopting changes to its trade policy. Above all, the United States should not revert back to its unilateral interventionist policies of the past.     

意象在美国外交决策中的作用 --以美国军事干预科索沃为例

意象是决策者认知图式中的重要组成部分,也是外交决策者决策过程的一个重要干预性变量。美国更不例外。本文将克林顿政府军事干预科索沃政策作为案例,运用国际政治认知心理学的“意象”概念以及意象与决策者再现问题之间的一般关系模式,分析克林顿政府在制定军事干预科索沃政策过程中,决策者对干预对象所持的意象与他们认识科索沃问题以及最终实施军事干预的相互关系。文章最后结合克林顿政府在后冷战时期面临的对外战略形势,探讨了意象对美国政府制定对外政策的几点影响。     

The Age of Liberal Imperialism: Twenty-five Years of a Flawed U.S. Foreign Policy

The most common assertion about U.S. foreign policy appearing in scholarly journals and opinion articles is that it is incoherent. This article will show that nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it is a growing cohesiveness from political science centered around the democratic peace thesis and a growing interdisciplinary consensus that western human rights need to be granted and enforced around that world that has fed into a highly cohesive, highly militarized, foreign policy of what will be defined as Liberal Imperialism.     

美国共和党外交理念刍议

一、共和党外交政策回顾二战以来 ,美国共和党与民主党执政时间都是 2 8年。在外交上 ,共和党往往给人留下强硬派印象 ,其一贯特点是强调实力外交地位 ,奉行现实主义对外政策 ,但始终带有明显的保守主义意识形态色彩。2 0世纪 60年代末 ,一向以反共著称的共和党人尼克松当选总统。作为现实主义者的尼克松知道与美国的意识形态宿敌接触符合其国家利益 ,只有缓和才能赢得喘息之机 ,但应以实力地位为前提。他一上台就与中苏两个共产党国家搞缓和 ,以争取喘息的时间。同样 ,里根也以反共著称。里根政府采取强硬的对苏政策 ,实施推回战略。它认为…     

The Growing Role of States in U.S. Foreign Policy: The Case of the State Partnership Program

States can and do play an important role in contemporary U.S. foreign policy. This article will discuss the growing role of states through an investigation of the State Partnership Program (SSP). The SSP pairs state National Guards with the militaries of other countries through U.S. military engagement programs. The state-level National Guard then becomes the primary site for implementing U.S. military engagement programs. Both a federalism and decision-making perspective, however, are unable to recognize this role. The decision-making bias of foreign policy analysis affords states a limited international role and minimal influence in shaping the policies of the government toward other countries. An implementation perspective, however, reveals a growing role of states carrying out U.S. foreign policy, including the "high politics" of national security issues. States give decisions meaning through the practice of policy implementation. A detailed case study of the Maryland–Estonia partnership illustrates how an implementation perspective can recognize a growing role of states in shaping U.S. foreign policy.