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The US is turning into a selective super power
US presidential elections rarely turn on foreign policy. This oneless than most. When Mitt Romney spoke to the Republicanconvention, he made no mention of the young Americansfighting and dying in the nation’s longest war. At the Democraticparty convention Barack Obama gave Afghanistan a glancingreference – but only to underline that he would soon bebringing the troops home.
美国总统选举很少随着外交政策转向，这次选举尤其如此。米特罗姆尼(Mitt Romney)在共和党大会上讲话的时候，没有提到那些在美国投入的最漫长的战争中作战和阵亡的美国年轻人。在民主党大会上，巴拉克奥巴马(Barack Obama)也仅仅简略提到阿富汗战争——但只是为了强调他很快就会撤出美国军人。
On the campaign trail, the world struggles to gain a mention. Mr Romney offered Republicandelegates a brief, boilerplate criticism of the president as soft on adversaries and neglectful of allies, particularly Israel. Mr Obama, in an only slightly fuller account of abroad, claimed credit for thereassertion of US power in the Pacific and for the death of Osama bin Laden.
在竞选活动中，世界事务很少被提及。罗姆尼在共和党代表面前，简要而照本宣科地批评了奥巴马总统，称他在对手面前不够强硬，而且忽视了盟国，尤其是以色列。奥巴马对国际事务说得多一些，把美国在太平洋地区重新确立强大存在和击毙奥萨马本拉登(Osama bin Laden)列为自己主政期间的成就。
The killing this week of American diplomats in Benghazi and spreading violence against USembassies in the Middle East in response to a film mocking Islam have put the world back on thefront pages. The US cannot escape the consequences of its unrivalled global reach. The realelection battlegrounds, though, are the economy and the plight of the middle classes.
前不久美国外交官在利比亚班加西遇害，以及一部嘲笑伊斯兰教的电影引发中东地区针对美国使馆的不断蔓延的暴力事件，使得国际事件再次成为头版头条新闻。美国无法逃避其举世无双的全球影响力所带来的结果。可是大选真正的战场是经济和中产阶级的困境。
Future historians may well look back and see this as the harbinger of an important shift in America’srole in the world. Not long ago, many in Washington imagined a permanent US hegemony. Warswere waged and plans laid for a generational project to bring democracy to the Middle East. Thenthere was talk of deploying soft alongside hard power to refurbish and revive the postwarinternational order and embrace the rising states of the east and south as responsible stakeholders.
未来历史学家们回过头来看的时候，很可能认为这是美国世界角色重要转变的一个前兆。就在短短几年前，华盛顿的很多人还设想着美国永久霸权地位。为了把民主带到中东，美国打了一些战争、制定了一个世代项目计划。那时，人们谈论着结合软实力和硬实力，以修复和重振战后国际秩序，让东方和南方不断崛起的国家成为负责任的利益攸关者。
Whether led by Mr Obama or Mr Romney, the US will continue to see itself as the most powerfulnation on the international block. But the focus and ambition of its world view have narrowed. Leading from behind in the toppling of Muammer Gaddafi in Libya and the extreme reluctance tointervene in Syria have been signposts to the future. So too the eagerness to quit Afghanistan andMr Obama’s “rebalancing” to Asia.
不管是是奥巴马还是罗姆尼当选，美国都仍将把自己视为国际舞台上最强大的国家。但美国世界观的焦点和雄心均已收窄。“从后排领导”推翻卡扎菲政权的努力，以及极其不愿出手干预叙利亚事务，都是未来的路标。急于撤出阿富汗和奥巴马向亚洲的“再平衡”，也指明了同样的趋势。
The US image of itself as permanent guarantor of the global commons is being replaced by asharper assessment of national interests. Grandiose talk of building a new international system hasmade way for a strategic outlook that sees the US at the centre of a return to a world of greatpower balancing and coalition-building. America, you could say, is fast becoming the selectivesuperpower.
美国自视为全球公共领域永久保护者的形象，正被更加犀利的国家利益评估所取代。建立一个新的国际体系的宏伟说法，正让位于这样一个战略前景：美国将再度置身于一个大国抗衡和结盟的世界的中心。可以这么说，美国正在快速成为一个选择性的超级大国。
In some respects, this is simply owning up to the facts. The rest, particularly China, have risenfaster than anyone expected. After the sorry experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan, voters have lostenthusiasm for foreign adventurism. A national balance sheet soaked in red ink says the US cananyway no longer afford such entanglements.
在某些方面，这仅仅是一种对事实的认可。世界其他国家（特别是中国）的崛起速度之快超出所有人的预期。而在伊拉克和阿富汗战争的惨痛教训之后，美国选民对海外冒险失去了激情。无论如何，国家资产负债表出现严重赤字，说明美国不再能够承受这样的干预。
Mr Romney may promise otherwise, but the defence budget faces a long squeeze to deal with highdeficits and accumulated debt. If the navy must have ships to reassert US power in Asia, the armywill be left with fewer troops to deploy in Europe or the Middle East.
罗姆尼可能会做出相反的承诺，但国防预算面临着长期的挤压，以应对高赤字和积累的债务。如果海军必须拥有足够舰船以重新确立美国在亚洲的权威，陆军在欧洲和中东能够部署的兵力就不得不缩减。 |
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发表于 2016-7-11 09:55:09