美国是“帝国”吗?——对美国政界学界相关争论的辨析

"9·11事件"以来,特别是美国入侵阿富汗和伊拉克之后,美国政界和学界关于美国是否是"帝国"的争论再起。参与争论的人群大致可以分为三个主要流派,他们围绕以下三个核心问题展开广泛争论:"美利坚帝国"的界定、"美利坚帝国"存在的基础、"美利坚帝国"的成本与收益的计算。毫无疑问,从军事和经济势力上看,美国是个无与伦比的"帝国"。然而,当今的"美利坚帝国"与19世纪和20世纪欧洲殖民帝国相比,拥有完全不同的物质基础、文化观念和思想体系。在研究"美利坚帝国"这一课题时,除了要关注美国硬实力、软实力方面的优势,更有必要研究和构建一个与"美利坚帝国"影响力微观基础相关的理论框架,通过多种案例的比较研究,来考察"美利坚帝国"在不同环境与条件下产生的具体影响力。     

“文明”话语与甲午战争——以美日报刊舆论为中心的考察

甲午战争发生于19世纪下半叶西方"文明"话语盛行之时,以"文明"与"野蛮"二元划分为基础的文明等级观将中国和日本列为"半文明"国家。但日本以其"文明开化"而自诩为"文明"国家,宣称甲午战争是"文明"对"野蛮"的战争,并通过操纵"文明"话语而影响西方舆论。美国报刊从西方文明价值观出发将甲午战争参战双方分别设定为两种角色,即中国代表"野蛮"和"保守",日本代表"文明"和"进步",并以此为前提来评价这场战争,"文明"成为判断战争是非的标准。这样,"文明"话语依附于西方霸权而在当时成为国际政治和国际舆论中的一种潜在规范力量,并强加于中国而成为一种话语暴力。由此,清朝被贴上"野蛮"标签,丧失了对日战争的正义性,遭受屈辱而未能得到美国舆论的同情。日本则因声称战争目的为推进"文明"而符合并顺应了当时西方的"文明使命",虽制造了旅顺大屠杀并最终通过《马关条约》损害中国主权,反而得到美国舆论的支持。     

美国史学对19、20世纪之交美国海外扩张的思考与认识

对 1 9、2 0世纪之交美国海外扩张的研究是整个美国外交史学的极为重要的部分 ,在一定意义上 ,这一研究折射出美国外交史学陷入困境的症结与原因 ,同时也映现着美国外交史学发展的出路和方向。美国外交史学在以下两个问题上无法解释美国海外扩张的合理性 :其一 ,海外扩张是否违背了局限于大陆拓进的孤立主义外交传统 ;其二 ,海外帝国的追求是否有悖于美国人视为立国之本的民主理想。自 2 0世纪初美国外交史学产生以来 ,无论是理想主义史学的“背离说” ,还是现实主义史学的“国家利益说” ,都不能说明海外扩张的历史逻辑性。修正派史学虽然揭示了美国扩张外交的本质 ,但由于其“由内到外”的研究体系的局限 ,最后难免落入孤立主义的陷阱。本文着重介绍了“后修正史学”的“综合研究”和“国际研究”的研究方法 ,指出不同民族的观念、情感的平等沟通和交流才能代表着美国外交史学的发展方向。     

汉文化的必然抉择--再论世界历史上的大清帝国

大清帝国创立时期,可供选择的文明有三个,即：伊斯兰文明、基督教文明和中华文明。清朝的统治者最终选择了汉文化,选择了中华文明,这有其必然性。在世界转向近代的大潮中,这一选择带来了大清帝国的盛世,也预伏了它的衰落。     

美国早期共和国媒体的扩张话语

通过选择性的报道和评论,美国早期刊物积极鼓动美国政府和美国民众占领印第安土地,同化或者驱赶印第安人,利用一切机会蚕食和占据欧洲国家在北美的殖民地;某些媒体甚至还要求美国向太平洋扩张,谋求北美大陆之外的海洋霸权。虽说早期媒体的扩张话语并不等同于美国政府的实际政策,但却反映了众多政治家和民众的扩张意识,勾勒出了美国以扩张为手段建立世界帝国的主要线索。从该角度而言,建国初期的报刊杂志浓缩了美国的扩张史,为我们了解美国早期扩张思想创造了又一契机。     

近代革命、改良与建设的历史逻辑

正当人类率先在欧洲从农业文明跨入工业文明时,历史就注定了全新的文明样式将对古老的文明样式取而代之,并以自己开创的新路继续前行。正是在这一时期,中华文明遇到了前所未有的考验与挑战,中华民族遭到了空前严重的生存危机。西方工业文明国家以基督教、商品、轮船、大炮等工具不断向傲慢、封闭、落后、悠闲的中华帝国发起猛攻,这是一个新兴帝国崛起和古老帝国衰落的并发过程,这是新兴帝国的狂傲、不可一世与古老帝国的落寞、痛苦转型的鲜明对照。面对强敌入侵带来的屈辱和中西对比的巨大落差,中华民族不得     

环境史视野下英帝国史研究的问题意识与路径转向

环境史视野下的英帝国史研究关注英帝国殖民扩张活动的环境基础与生态影响,其问题意识和路径转向与英帝国史学和环境史学的发展脉络紧密相连。该领域学者最初侧重论证全球环境主义的帝国起源,后来转向分析英帝国环境话语、殖民活动的物质前提及其对殖民地环境的影响。其研究主题也从环境观念与殖民科学延伸至资源开发、商品边疆、城市规划、疾病卫生等内容。近来有学者提倡采用“生态—文化网络”视角,从空间网络、物质与文化联系以及能动性三方面重新思考英帝国环境史。既有研究展现了帝国语境下全球环境观念的演变,也揭露了殖民主义深远但隐蔽的环境影响。它们使学界对英帝国的认识从“仁慈帝国”转向“自然帝国”,超越了所谓“帝国文明传播论”或“帝国和平论”。未来学界仍需从帝国权力结构、时空范畴以及历史能动性等方面推进研究。     

浅析西洋铜版画中的厦门海战

明政府在郑和七次下西洋以后从海洋退缩,开始长期实行海禁并限制海外贸易,于是古老的农耕文明在17世纪开始受到西方的殖民扩张及19世纪工业文明的冲击。明季肇始,西班牙人、葡萄牙人、荷兰人、英国人先后从海上纷至沓来,欲打开封闭的中华帝国的庞大市场,多次努力受挫后即采取战争的方式。     

关于联邦德国第一代史学家的争论

联邦德国史学界历来争论不休。新旧世纪之交,那里又兴起了关于原西德第一代历史学家在第三帝国时期追随纳粹的历史的争论。这一争论涉及到许多历史学家,而争论中心主要是在战后西德史学界起主导作用的著名历史学家康策(W．Conze 1910—1986年),席     

拉美古代文明史中几个有争议的问题

本文介绍了史学界关于印第安人的起源、特奥蒂瓦坎文明与托尔特克文明的关系、阿兹特克帝国的政治结构、玛雅文明失落的原因、印卡帝国的性质等问题的诸多争议性观点,并提出了自己的倾向性看法。     

Working/Touring the Past: Latin American Identity and the Political Frustration of Heritage

This article explores the pervasive impact of the pre-Hispanic past on contemporary Latin American identity, using the Ecuadorian Indian movement and the Yucatacan town of Izamal as two symbolic sites where many of these factors vie for official recognition. Therefore, the central topic of this article is also an essential element of the debate contained within the global development discourse: How is it possible for Latin American to face the constant onslaught of powerful North America and European iconic images and not in some way embody its own inherent internalized forms of colonial oppression?     

Empire by denial: the strange case of the United States

The issue of empire has once again become a major political question in American foreign policy discourse. But whereas in the 1960s the discussion was one that mainly concerned the radical left, over the past few years the debate has largely been conducted within neo-conservative circles. The discussion is one that should be taken seriously-in part because of its intrinsically interesting character and in part because of what it tells us about the Bush grand strategy. In the end, though, the issue of whether or not there is-or is not- an American empire, is perhaps of less importance than the fact that most Americans deny that such an empire exists. This has consequences both for the conduct of American foreign policy and for its successful execution.     

"A More Perfect Union": Ableman v. Booth and the Culmination of Federal Sovereignty

The discourse over federal versus state jurisdiction was ingrained into American politics at the nation's inception. It has been the premise of our most historically significant rivalries—between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster and Robert Hayne. Though this debate remains a contentious topic in contemporary political discourse, the U.S. Supreme Court settled the legal controversy on the eve of America's bloodiest conflagration. Unanimously, the Court ruled that the federal union was of greater importance than the authority of the individual states. The 1859 Ableman v. Booth ¹ decision was wrought from moral controversy, legal precedent, and political necessity, coupled with the full force of law, and has endured as a compelling pronouncement on the need for continuity and stability in uncertain times.     

Reimagined communities: Union veterans and the reconstruction of American nationalism

ABSTRACT. American commemoration of the Union dead and the role this played in the development of post‐war American nationalism is a topic of growing interest. Those who survived, however, are too often left out of the discussion: unsettling reminders of the sectional conflict at the time, the veterans' role in the reconstruction of American nationalism was rather more ambiguous than historians have made it seem. To trace the lineaments of American national identity after the Civil War requires some assessment of the ways in which the veteran was incorporated into or detached from the home front during the war itself and, later, from post‐war society. The evidence suggests that, in contrast to the ambiguity surrounding the veteran, the dead could, in many ways, be more easily accommodated by the new nationalist discourse emerging from the war. Positioning the veteran at the centre of the debate on war and nationalism, indeed, challenges the very concept of an imagined community emerging from or through civil conflict.     

Contested visions of American democracy: citizenship, public housing, and the international arena

This essay reexamines the history of public housing and the controversy it generated from the Great Depression to the Cold War. By recasting that history in the global arena, it demonstrates that the debate over public housing versus homeownership was also a debate over the meaning of American citizenship and democracy, pointing up starkly divergent notions about what was and was not American. Through an examination of national conflicts and neglected local struggles, this article further shows that the fight over public housing was far more meaningful and volatile than traditionally assumed. Both critics and advocates of public housing drew from international experiences and imagery in positioning the home as a constitutive feature of citizenship in American democracy. Fears of Bolshevism, fascism, and communism served to internationalize issues of race, space, and housing and together shaped the decision of whether a decent home was an American right or privilege.     

Polygamy and Legislation in Contemporary Iran: An Analysis of the Public Legal Discourse

The purpose of this article is to analyze the interaction between different interpretations of Islamic jurisprudence in Iran and state law. It focuses on the public legal discourse about the new Family Draft Law in 2007–08, especially Article 23 regulating polygamous marriages and removing necessity for the first wife's permission. The participants in this public legal debate, which took place on the internet and in the media, were civil society organizations, especially women's organizations, the Shiite clergy, and state representatives. The article argues that even in a non-democratic, theocratic state such as the Islamic Republic of Iran, public discourse promoted by the named actors can challenge and influence state legislation. The removal of Article 23 from the Draft confirms this argument, but in the law of 2013 the requirement for the first wife's permission is not found. By looking at the arguments brought forward in the public discourse, the article demonstrates that the arguments are mainly “Islamic,” and none refers to international human rights, as this seems to be a kind of taboo in the political discourse.     

Fear of the city 1882-1967: Edward Hopper and the discourse of anti-urbanism

This paper traces the extent to which some of the major cityscape representations of the American 'Realist' painter, Edward Hopper, have contributed to the production and articulation of the discourse of anti-urbanism in American culture. Following an introductory background to this discourse, the paper discusses the development of Realism in American art, and how the urban representations that emerged were a response to the rapidly changing, early twentieth-century American city. A brief biographical account of Edward Hopper is presented to explore the intertextual influences behind his anti-urban sentiments, and how these translated into the unique form of Realism for which Hopper is renowned. This sets the stage for a reading of four key Hopper works that are suggestive of the anti-urban discourse: Night Shadows, Nighthawks, Approaching a City and Sunday . The powers of representation and the artist's popularity have fed into the discourse of anti-urbanism - a discourse that has a material effect on urban life in America.     

Was cultural deprivation in fact sensory deprivation? Deprivation, retardation and intervention in the USA

In the 1950s, the term "deprivation" entered American psychiatric discourse. This article examines how the concept of deprivation permeated the field of mental retardation, and became an accepted theory of etiology. It focuses on sensory deprivation and cultural deprivation, and analyzes the interventions developed, based on these theories. It argues that the controversial theory of cultural deprivation derived its scientific legitimization from the theory of sensory deprivation, and was a highly politicized concept that took part in the nature-nurture debate.     

Trafficking in women? Or multicultural family? The contextual difference of commodification of intimacy

This article attempts to link commercially arranged cross-border marriages to the discussion of the commodification of intimacy and to explore how a transnational phenomenon is contextualized in national politics. The question of commodification – what can or cannot be assigned economic value – has been a contentious area of intersection between economics and ethics, and intimacy has often been at the heart of the recent debate on commodification. Yet, commercially arranged cross-border marriages are perceived differently in Vietnam, a country that sends brides, and in Korea, a country that receives brides. In Vietnam, cross-border marriage has been portrayed negatively and is often associated with trafficking in women. Although a similar discourse exists in Korea, the official discourse on cross-border marriage has focused on supporting multicultural families. The difference in discourse with respect to the same phenomenon suggests that the tension around commodification is not necessarily shaped uniformly across the national border. In this article, I juxtapose the contrasted discourses and policies on commercially arranged cross-border marriages in both countries and discuss the contexts that may have contributed to the difference in discourse. By doing this, I show that the global trend of commodification of intimacy and the cultural meaning of this phenomenon cannot be divorced from national politics.     

Reenactment, Fantasy, and the Paranoia of History: Oliver Stone's Docudramas

In the late 1980s and 1990s, American popular culture has been increasingly rife with conspiracy narratives of recent historical events. Among cultural producers, filmmaker Oliver Stone has had a significant impact on popular understanding of American culture in the late twentieth century through a series of docudramas which reread American history through the lens of conspiracy theory and paranoia. This paper examines the films of Oliver Stone—in particular Platoon , Born on the Fourth of July , JFK , and Nixon —asking why they have achieved popularity and brought about catharsis, why they are the subject of attack, and why it is useful to look beyond the debate about truth and falsehood that has surrounded them. It analyzes the ways in which Stone's status as a Vietnam veteran allowed Platoon to be accorded the authenticity of survivor discourse, whereas JFK and Nixon were subject to almost hysterical attack, not only because of Stone's assertions of conspiracy, but also because of his cinematic style of tampering with famous images. Taking these films as its point of departure, this paper examines the role of images in the construction of history, the form of the docudrama, the reenactment of historical images, fantasies of history, and ways in which paranoia part of the practice of citizenship.