Revolution, State Building, and Foreign Policy

Book reviewed in this article:
Daniela Spenser, The Impossible Triangle: Mexico, Soviet Russia, and the United States in 1920s     

“巨文岛事件”与英国东北亚政策

"甲申政变"之后,辅佐谁来保护朝鲜,是英国制定东北亚外交政策的焦点。朝鲜"背清亲俄"、日本不断挑战中朝宗藩关系、《天津条约》的撤兵造成朝鲜半岛即将出现政权、军事真空局面,导致中国在政治、军事两方面掌控朝鲜的力度空前薄弱,加剧了域内域外国家对朝鲜主导权的争夺。为了防止朝鲜半岛的动荡局势向着于己国不利的方向演变,维护在远东地区的战略格局,1885年3月,英国精心策划了一个"由中国保护朝鲜"和"有一打算"的外交计策,并于1885年4月在防御"英俄战争"的大义名分下,占领了巨文岛。由此,开始了近两年的辅佐"中国保护朝鲜"的外交活动,最后如愿获得了一个在中国宗主权掌控下的相对稳固的东北亚局势。可以说,巨文岛事件是在英国军事力量支持下,中英联手巩固东亚宗藩体制的外交事件,英国是这一事件的最大赢家,中国是最大的受益者。而英国高调渲染占领巨文岛的大义名分和辅佐"中国保护朝鲜"的真实用意,如同一枚硬币的两面,反映了巨文岛事件的复杂性、多面性。1885年以后,在强化宗藩体制的过程中,以遏制日本和朝鲜进一步破坏中国宗主权为目的的英国外交活动发挥了关键作用,巨文岛事件是其中的重要历史拐点。     

Foreign Policy and an American Christian Democratic Party

This article explores the implications of the Judeo-Christian tradition's influence on the United States for the foreign policy of an American Christian Democratic Party. If there were to be such a party in the United States, it would not have to create a new set of ideas and principles out of whole cloth. In fact, an articulation of an American Christian Democratic foreign policy would largely consist of an effort of resourcement, rediscovering and applying anew foundational principles at the core of the American experiment. This article develops this insight in two main foreign policy areas: national security and economic.     

Review Article: British Foreign Policy from Salisbury to Blair

JOHN W. YOUNG. Britain and the World in the Twentieth Century. London: Edward Arnold, 1997; dist. New York: St Martin's Press. Pp. xi, 250. $19.95 (us), paper; DOUGLAS NEWTON. British Policy and the Weimar Republic, 1918–1919. New York: Clarendon Press, Oxford University Press, 1997. Pp. x, 481. $135.00 (CDN); RICHARD S. GRAYSON. Austen Chamberlain and the Commitment to Europe; British Foreign Policy, 1924–29. London: Frank Cass, 1997; dist. Portland, Oreg.: ISBS. Pp. xviii, 318. $49.50 (us); DAVID DUTTON. Anthony Eden: A Life and Reputation. London: Edward Arnold, 1997; dist. Don Mills: Oxford University Press. Pp. xiv, 576. $40.50 (CDN), paper; PETER JONES. America and the British Labour Party: The ‘Special Relationship’at Work. London: I. B. Tauris, 1997; dist. New York: St Martin's Press. Pp. 252. $59.50 (us).     

9/11 and the Past and Future of American Foreign Policy

Does the national security strategy of the Bush administration constitute a radical new departure or does it possess clear links to past American policies? Is the Bush strategy motivated by the perception of threat, the pursuit of power, or the quest for hegemony? This article argues that the policies of the Bush administration are more textured and more conflicted than either its friends or its foes believe. They are also less bold and less likely to offer enduring solutions. In fact, they constitute a surprising departure from the ways most former US administrations have dealt with ‘existential’ threats in the twentieth century. By championing a ‘balance of power favouring freedom’ and by eschewing the ‘community of power’ approach propounded by Woodrow Wilson, Bush and his advisers are charting a unilateralist course for times of crisis, a course neither so popular nor so efficacious as its proponents think. But the unilateralism is prompted by fears and threats that must not be dismissed or trivialized by critics of the administration.     

Good International Citizenship: A Third Way for British Foreign Policy

To date, there has not been a sustained attempt to bring the philosophy of the Third Way into foreign policy. In order to fill this gap, the authors turn to the idea of 'good international citizenship' pioneered by the former Australian Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans. It is argued that good international citizenship provides a conceptual rationale for an ethical foreign policy as well as a standard for judging the priority accorded to the goals of security, trade and human rights. Through an examination of a number of cases, the authors conclude that Britain's record as a good international citizen has been uneven and argue—against Labour's critics—that the government has set a new course for Britain's way in the world. More importantly, it has encouraged a public debate about the meaning and priority accorded to the promotion of different values.