美国外交政策的危机及其根源

The Crisis of American Foreign Policy and Its Roots

近年来,美国外交政策出现了一定程度的危机,不仅外交决策功能失调,而且越发欠缺解决问题的能力,美国主导下全球范围的自由国际秩序面临瓦解之势。美国外交政策危机的直接原因在于美国实力相对衰落,世界观发生改变,作为全球霸权不再愿意领导世界。美国外交政策危机更有着深刻的国内根源,即美国社会治理出现较大问题,制造业空心化,中产阶级萎缩,社会中的理性走向溃败,这些问题已经危及美国的民主制度。拜登政府通过重振制造业和壮大中产阶级来修复国内民主,同时联合民主盟友和伙伴,重新将国内社会嵌入西方民主国家的小圈子,试图以此来解决美国面临的外交政策危机。在此思路指引下,拜登政府不再追求把自由国际秩序推向全世界,而是借机俄乌冲突,收缩自由主义理念,走向特殊主义路径,团结和组织西方国家,加快大国关系重组,更把中国和俄罗斯视为异己和对手。尽管拜登政府应对俄乌冲突颇为得手,在一些问题上改善了其外部处境,然而并不意味着美国外交政策已经走出危机。

In recent years,the crisis of American foreign policy has been emerging.As its foreign policy decision-making becomes dysfunctional,the US finds it more and more difficult to be the can-do power,which is the syndrome of the collapse of liberal world order.The causes of the American foreign policy crisis lie in the relative decline of the US power,the change of its world view and its reluctance to lead the world as a global hegemon.However,there are deeper domestic roots,mainly vital problems in social governance,including the hollowing out of manufacturing sector,the shrinking of the middle class,and the decline of rationality in society.These problems have eroded the American democracy.The Biden administration has renewed democracy at home by revitalizing the manufacturing industry and fostering the middle class.At the same time,Biden has also tried to unite the democratic alliances and partners,and re-embed the domestic society into the inner-circle of Western democracies.He no longer seeks to promote the liberal order to the whole world,but to seize the opportunity of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to shrink the liberal camp and move towards particularized approach in foreign policy.Although Biden has been quite successful in dealing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict and has improved the US’s external situation,it does not mean that American foreign policy has come out of the crisis.