荣誉、法治与普世:一战前后美国政治精英的三种国联构想

Honor,Legalism and Universalism:American Political Elites'Three Concepts of League of Nations Around World War I

一战前后,国际联盟容易被指责为与美国传统相悖的“纷扰同盟”,这对美国加入国联构成了颇为不利的政治文化环境。为避免此窘境,美国主要领导人罗斯福、塔夫脱和威尔逊分别将自己素来重视的“荣誉”、“法治”和“普世”等价值赋予国联,试图彰显其积极内涵,在不剧烈触动美国反“纷扰同盟”传统的前提下,实现向国际联合的平稳过渡。然而,除孤立主义的阻挠之外,这些价值之间本身便彼此很难协调且势均力敌,形成了类似“多极化”的政治文化结构,使得美国政治精英达成共识的可能性更为黯淡。

Around World War I,any plan of League of Nations could easily be attacked by its opponents as an entangling alliance,"forming a political milieu unfavorable to American membership in this new international organization.Facing this cultural obstacle,three U.S.political leaders,Theodore Roosevelt,Taft and Wilson tried to shape the League with their own core values respectively,which could be named honor,legalism,and universalism.Resorting to these values,they could promote the merits of the League to the public and make the turn of U.S.diplomatic vision from isolation to international combination smoothly,without breaking the American taboo about"entangling alliance"violently.Nevertheless,not only isolationists were opposed to the League staunchly,but these values themselves were all powerful ideas balancing with,and even confronting with each other,forming something like a multipolar structure dominating American political culture during the League fight.In such context,the prospect of forming solid consensus on the League among American political elites became much dimmer.