尼加拉体系:理解东南亚国际关系的新视角

A Negara System:A New Theoretical Perspective on International Relations in Southeast Asia

在东南亚,“尼加拉(神圣的城)”一词指代国家、首都、城市、村镇及更基本的政治单元,也用于描述古代东南亚具有本土文化特色的政治形态及权力运作方式。通过发掘东南亚的地方知识,作者尝试从文化路径构建了一个新的理论框架:首先,从思想来源、内涵与构成以及运作机制三方面对东南亚本土文化概念尼加拉进行解析。尼加拉的思想来源为东南亚的神王文化。作为政治单元,尼加拉的权力中心一般为被视为拥有神性的国王。其运作机制为在神性会自然衰降的条件下,尼加拉的中心通过仪式和模仿等方式来维持或提升神性。其次,对学术界现有的几种理解前殖民时期东南亚各种社会现象的解释模型进行对比。最后,从尼加拉这个本土概念中抽象出中心点与象征性权力,分别将其视为分析古代东南亚体系的因变量与自变量。体系中各个层次的中心点对象征性权力的追求会导致战争或和平,而其结果最终将导致中心点在体系中地位的变化(上升、维持现状和下降)。多中心的尼加拉体系是一种新的非西方国际关系理论视角,它对古代东南亚国际关系动态和变化的解释比西方主流国际关系理论及曼陀罗体系更有力。这一视角不仅可以对古代东南亚国际体系进行解释,也能为当代东南亚研究提供新的分析思路。

Expanding on indigenous knowledge in Southeast Asia,this paper uses a cultural approach to develop a novel theoretical perspective and contributes to the development of emerging non-Western International Relations(IR)theories.First,this article analyzes the indigenous concept of Negara(Sacred City)by focusing on its intellectual origin,composition and mechanism.It then compares different existing models of Negara and Mandala,which explain social phenomena in the pre-colonial Southeast Asia.In order to construct an alternative explanatory model,the authors extract from the concept of Negara and develop it into the concepts of status of centers(dependent variable)and symbolic power(independent variable).In this Negara system,the authors argue that the pursuit of symbolic power by different centers at different levels can lead to either war or peace,which in turn results in the changes of status of these centers(higher status,maintaining the status quo,lower status).Finally,the authors argue that the polycentric Negara system offers a new non-Western IR theoretical framework that can better explain the changes in the pre-colonial Southeast Asia better than both mainstream Western IR theories and Mandala system.Furthermore,it not only can explain the pre-colonial Southeast Asia,but can also shed new light on contemporary Southeast Asia.