国际关系视野中的城市——地位、功能及政治走向

The Role of the City from the Perspective of International Relations:Status,Functions,and Political Trends

城市与国际关系是一个尚未得到充分探讨的重要问题。城市是人类创造的伟大文明成果。城市的出现早于国家 ,而其命运要长于国家 ,未来即使国家消亡了 ,城市仍将存在。随着城市化的进展 ,人类的大多数将要移居城市。人类长期生存、发展的历史也是城市产生、发展、扩张的历史。伴随着城市演变的历程 ,城市在国际关系中的角色不断变化。当国家作为国际关系主要行为体时 ,城市是一个沉默的角色 ;随着全球化的深入 ,城市成为跨国公司、非政府组织、网络信息的中心 ,成为这些经济、文化要素扩散、聚合、联结的节点。在“高级政治”方面 ,民族国家的主权原则仍是国际关系中的基本准则 ;但是 ,在经济、社会、文化等“低级政治”方面 ,城市正在承接主权国家下放的更多权力并自主地开展国际交往 。

The city is a growing actor in international relations.This essay explores the relationship between the city and international relations.As a great human achievement,the city appeared ahead of the state and moreover it tends to exist beyond the state. In the future, the state may be transformed and even disappear, while the city will continue to exist for a long time. The city has been experiencing birth, development, and expansion as the result of increased settlement. The evolution of the city has provided it with a changing role in international relations. When the state works as a main actor in international relations, the city plays only a minor role; but with the development of globalization, the city has become the center of transnational companies, non-governmental organizations, and networked information, and it is also a point of juncture connecting different economic and cultural factors. From the perspective of “high-politics”,national sovereignty is still the basic principle in international relations, but from the perspective of the “low-politics” of economics and culture, more power is being transferred down to the city level from the level of national sovereignty to develop foreign exchanges. Therefore, city diplomacy with a special content is taking shape and will mature with the passage of time.