Stephen Walt 善意地獄 美國外交政策 與美國主導地位的衰落

善意地獄：美國外交政策精英與美國主導地位的衰落

https://www.amazon.ca/Hell-Good-Intentions-Americas-Foreign/dp/0374280037
作者：斯蒂芬·沃爾特 2018 年 1 月 1 日

《紐約時報》暢銷書作家斯蒂芬·沃爾特 (Stephen M. Walt) 的《善意地獄》剖析了美國近期外交政策的錯誤和缺陷，解釋了為什麽美國會受到伊拉克和阿富汗“永遠的戰爭”等災難的困擾，並概述了美國外交政策的哪些問題。 可以修複它。

1992年，美國站在世界強國的頂峰，美國人對和平與繁榮的新時代即將到來充滿信心。 二十五年後，這些希望已經破滅。 與俄羅斯和中國的關係惡化，歐盟搖搖欲墜，民族主義和民粹主義抬頭，美國陷入代價高昂且毫無意義的戰爭，這些戰爭浪費了數萬億美元並削弱了其在世界各地的影響力。

沃爾特認為，這一慘淡記錄的根源在於美國外交政策機構對“自由霸權”戰略的頑固承諾。 自冷戰結束以來，共和黨人和民主黨人都試圖利用美國的力量將民主、開放市場和其他自由主義價值觀傳播到地球的每一個角落。 這一戰略注定要失敗，但其在外交政策精英中的支持者卻從未被追究責任，並不斷重蹈覆轍。

唐納德·特朗普贏得總統職位，承諾結束外交政策“Blob”的誤導性政策，並采取更明智的做法。 但他反複無常、衝動的執政風格，加上對世界政治的深刻理解存在缺陷，正在使本已糟糕的局勢變得更糟。 沃爾特認為，最好的選擇是回歸“離岸平衡”的現實主義戰略，避開政權更迭、國家建設和其他形式的全球社會工程。 美國人民肯定會歡迎更加克製的外交政策，允許更多地關注國內問題。 這種遲來的轉變需要放棄對自由霸權的徒勞追求，並建立一個對美國實力有更現實看法的外交政策機構。

斯蒂芬·M·沃爾特（Stephen M. Walt）的《善意地獄》清晰、坦率、文筆優美，既對美國最近的外交政策愚蠢行為做出了令人信服的診斷，又為重新取得成功提供了行之有效的公式。

The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy 

https://www.amazon.ca/Hell-Good-Intentions-Americas-Foreign/dp/0374280037
by Stephen M. Walt  Jan. 1 2018

From the New York Times–bestselling author Stephen M. Walt, The Hell of Good Intentions dissects the faults and foibles of recent American foreign policy ― explaining why it has been plagued by disasters like the “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan and outlining what can be done to fix it.

In 1992, the United States stood at the pinnacle of world power and Americans were confident that a new era of peace and prosperity was at hand. Twenty-five years later, those hopes have been dashed. Relations with Russia and China have soured, the European Union is wobbling, nationalism and populism are on the rise, and the United States is stuck in costly and pointless wars that have squandered trillions of dollars and undermined its influence around the world.

The root of this dismal record, Walt argues, is the American foreign policy establishment’s stubborn commitment to a strategy of “liberal hegemony.” Since the end of the Cold War, Republicans and Democrats alike have tried to use U.S. power to spread democracy, open markets, and other liberal values into every nook and cranny of the planet. This strategy was doomed to fail, but its proponents in the foreign policy elite were never held accountable and kept repeating the same mistakes.

Donald Trump won the presidency promising to end the misguided policies of the foreign policy “Blob” and to pursue a wiser approach. But his erratic and impulsive style of governing, combined with a deeply flawed understanding of world politics, are making a bad situation worse. The best alternative, Walt argues, is a return to the realist strategy of “offshore balancing,” which eschews regime change, nation-building, and other forms of global social engineering. The American people would surely welcome a more restrained foreign policy, one that allowed greater attention to problems here at home. This long-overdue shift will require abandoning the futile quest for liberal hegemony and building a foreign policy establishment with a more realistic view of American power.

Clear-eyed, candid, and elegantly written, Stephen M. Walt’s The Hell of Good Intentions offers both a compelling diagnosis of America’s recent foreign policy follies and a proven formula for renewed success.