宗教与冷战后美国外交政策——以美国宗教团体的“苏丹运动”为例

Religion and US Foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War Era: The Case of the Sudan Campaign

冷战结束以来,宗教在美国的外交政策和国际事务中的作用从隐性转为显性。在美国外交事务领域,宗教以及宗教团体通过无形的宗教意识形态以及有形的组织机构两个维度发挥作用。同时,其影响也受到各种传统及现实因素的制约。这在"苏丹运动"中就有程度不等的体现。苏丹运动在某种程度上打破了长期以来美国对非洲政策的所谓"三不规则",通过媒体宣传、基层动员和社会运动等方式形塑了美国外交政策议题。苏丹运动同时暴露了宗教团体介入美国对外事务领域的局限性。该运动为人们了解宗教以及宗教团体如何影响美国外交政策、研究后冷战时期宗教对国际关系的影响提供了重要案例。

Since the end of the Cold War, religion and religious groups have been playing an increasingly prominent role in US foreign policy, even though their influences, both tangible and intangible, have been restricted by various traditional and practical factors. These influences and limitations are reflected, to a certain degree, in the Sudan Campaign led by religious advocates and their organizations. The Sudan Campaign has significantly transformed the 'three basic rules' of the long-standing US policy toward Africa, and helped in setting up a new foreign policy agenda for the US government through massive media, social and political mobilizations. It has served as an important case for people to better understand the way in which religion and religious groups influence US foreign policy and their inherent limitations, as well as the general impact of religion on international relations in the post-Cold War era.