荷兰霸权兴衰的大战略得失解析——基于地缘政治的视角(1609—1713)

An Analysis of the Factor of Grand Strategy in the Rise and Fall of Dutch Hegemony: A Geopolitical Perspective (1609—1713)

本文从地缘政治角度探讨黄金时期荷兰共和国的大战略塑造及其对荷兰霸权兴衰的影响。对国际政治行为体进行地缘政治研究需要考察两大基本要素:一是自然地理环境蕴含的国际政治意义,二是国家间权力在地理空间上的布局。第一个要素显示,自然地理有助于荷兰共和国经济腾飞,但是在安全层面表现三方面的劣势:领土狭小的缺陷、战略通道的脆弱、陆海复合的“悲剧”。由于地缘政治研究第二要素的多变性以及其与国家大战略的直接联动关系,本文分三个时间段联合考察西欧国家权力空间布局与荷兰大战略特点。根据地缘政治形势,荷兰制定大战略需处理好三个问题,即战略目标各项排序问题、战略重心布置问题、战略目标与战略实力匹配问题。荷兰统治者在处理三个战略问题中的得与失,对荷兰霸权的兴衰产生了重要影响。

This essay is aimed to explore the making of grand strategy of Dutch Republic in the Golden Age and its influence on the rise and fall of Dutch Hegemony from the geopolitical perspective.There are two basic elements needed to be examined for the geopolitical studies of actors in international politics:one is the international political significance contained in the natural geography,and the other is the configuration of power of countries in geographic space.The first element shows that the physical geography helps Dutch economy take off,but it brings three disadvantages in terms of security:small territory,the fragility of its strategic channels,and the tragedy of land-sea compound.Due to the variability of the second element of geopolitical study and its direct linkage with the national grand strategy,this essay examines the space configuration of power of Western European countries and the characteristics of the Dutch grand strategy by dividing the years into three periods.According to geopolitical situation,the Netherlands had to deal with three issues when formulating a grand strategy,namely,the ordering of different strategic objectives,the placing of strategic focus,and the matching between strategic objectives and strategic strength.The gains and losses of the Dutch rulers in dealing with these three strategic issues imposed an important impact on the rise and fall of Dutch hegemony.