学术英语(社科)8单元A翻译

UNIT8 Hard Power, Soft Power, Smart Power

硬实力，软实力，巧实力

People often associate power of a nation with military might or economic strenght.Is these s omething more to the concept of power? The answer is in the affirmative,

at least to some who study political science.This unit explores the complex nature of power and how it impacts international relations.

人们常把权力一个国家军事实力和经济实力。这些东西更是对权力的概念吗？答案是肯定的，至少对一些学习政治科学的人来说是肯定的。本单位探讨了权力的复杂性及其对国际关系的影响。

The complex nature of power

权力的复杂性

1.

“Until human nature change,power and force will remain at the heart of international relatio ns,”according to a top U.S.official.Not everyone will agree with such a gloomy realpolitik assessment,but it underlines the crucial role that power plays in diplomacy.When the goals and interest of states conflict,which side will prevail is often decided by who has the most p ower.

一位美国高级官员表示：“直到人类的本质变化，力量和力量将留在国际关系的核心。不是每个人都会同意这样一个令人沮丧的现实的评估，但它强调，在外交上起着关键作用的力量。当国家的目标和利益发生冲突的时候，哪一方会获胜，往往取决于谁拥有最多的权力。

2.

Power is the term we will use here to represent the sum of a country's capabilities. Because power in common usage carries the connotation of “hit-over-the-head” or “make you” capabilities, it is very important to stress that power as used here is more than that. As we will explore in the following pages, power can be based on positive persuasion as well as negative coercion. Indeed, power has many forms. Military muscle, wealth, and some others are fairly obvious and tangible. Others such as national willpower and diplomatic skills are much less obvious and intangible.

我们将用这一术语来表示一个国家能力的总和。因为普通的力量有“击中头部”或“使你的能力”的内涵，所以强调使用这里的力量是非常重要的。正如我们将探讨在以下页面中，权力可以基于积极的说服和消极的强制。事实上，权力有很多形式。军事力量，财富，和其他一些是相当明显的和有形的。其他如国家意志和外交技巧是不太明显的和无形的。

Power as an asset and a goal

作为资产和目标的力量

3.

One source of confusion in discussion about power is that it is both an asset and a goal. Our discussion of power so far has generally treated it as an asset that can be applied to help countries achieve goals. In this sense, power is akin to money as a sort of political currency that can be used to acquire things. Money buys things; power causes things to happen. There are, of course, differences between money and power. One is that political power is less liquid than money; it is harder to convert into things that you want. Another difference is that power, unlike money, has no standard measurement. Therefore it is much harder to be precise about how much power any country has.

关于权力的讨论是一个混乱的问题，它既是一种资产，也是一个目标。我们对权力的讨论一般都把它当作一种可以用来帮助国家实现目标的资产。从这个意义上说，权力与金钱是一种政治货币，可以用来获取事物。钱买东西，权力导致事情发生。当然，金钱与权力之间的差异。一种是政治权力比金钱的流动性要小，它更难把你想要的东西转换成你想要的东西。另一个区别是，不同于金钱的权力，没有标准的测量。因此，更难以精确地了解到国家的权力有多大。

4.

Power is also a goal because in a world of often conflicting goals among countries it is only prudent to seek, acquire, or preserve sufficient power to pursue your national goals. Here again, the analogy between power and money has merit. We all expend money as an asset, yet we also seek to acquire money and to build up a reserve against both anticipated needs and contingencies.

权力也是一个目标，因为在一个世界上经常相互冲突的国家，它只是谨慎地寻求，获得或保持足够的权力来追求你的国家目标。再次，权力和金钱之间的类比是值得的。我们都把钱作为一种资产，但我们也寻求获得资金，并建立一个储备，针对预期的需求和突发事件。

5.

The duality of power as an asset and a goal creates a debate over whether more is always better. Some people believe that countries can become fixated on acquiring power, especially military power, beyond what is prudently needed to meet possible exigencies. This, critics say, is unwise because power is expensive, it creates a temptation to use it, and it spawns insecurity in others. Critics of recent U.S. foreign policy see its massive arms spending and its misadventure in Iraq as a case in point.

作为一种资产和的权力的双重性产生了一场辩论，权力是否越是越好。有些人认为，国家可以成为专注于获得权力，特别是军事力量，要超出谨慎的需要，满足可能发生的紧急情况。批评者说，这是不明智的，因为权力是昂贵的，它产生了一种去使用它的诱惑，并且它对其他人产生了不安全感。最近的美国外交政策的批评者认为其庞大的军费开支和在伊拉克不幸就是一个例子。