Unit 8 British Foreign Relations (英国的外交关系)

Unit 8 British Foreign Relations (英国的外交关系)

一、本单元重点内容

1. Active in setting up the United Nations (积极推进联合国的成立)

2. Foreign policy influenced by its history and geopolitical traits

(受其历史和地缘政治影响的外交政策)

3. Long-term physical separation from the European continent (长期与欧洲大陆隔绝)

4. The involvement of the Foreign and Common wealth Office (英国外交与联邦事务部的参与)

5. The Treasury (财政部)

6. The permanent member of the UN Security Council [(英国)是联合国常任理事国之一]

7. The member of the European Union (欧盟成员国之一)

8. The member of the Commonwealth (英联邦的成员国)

9. The special relationship with the United States (与美国的特殊关系)

提要

英国是二战以来美国在世界上最重要的盟友，在美国的全球战略中英国占有其他国家所无法比拟的重要地位，美英关系素有“特殊关系”之称。但是，这种“特殊关系”并不是始终不变的。20世纪60年代，由于国际局势的变化和英国外交战略的调整，美国对英国政策发生了重大变化。60年代初，尽管苏伊士运河危机使美英关系产生裂痕，但是美英之间仍可以说是“特殊关系”。然而，到了60年代末和70年代初，由于美国没能阻止英国从东苏伊士的撤出、英镑贬值、英国没能向越南派兵、英国最终加入欧洲经济共同体以及英国日益转向欧洲，美英“特殊关系”已大大削弱，逐渐转变为“自然关系”。美国对英国政策也实现了由原来的将英国视为其最重要乃至唯一的盟友到将其看做众多盟友中的一个的重大转变。这导致了英国在美国全球战略中的地位的明显下降和美英“特殊关系”的相对淡化。

10. The presence of superpower bases in Britain （在英国存在超级大国的军事基地）

11. Its participation in NATO [积极参与北约(北大西洋公约组织)的活动]

二、本单元重、难点辅导

1. the British empire and its end

The Britain used to rule 1/3 of the globe and thus became a great empire in the world. After the WWII, the British empire began to decline as more and more former colonies declared their political independence. Throughout the next few decades, the process of decolonization continued, though sometimes the process was full of violence. The end of the great British empire was inevitable. Today the age of British imperialism is gone. But the British foreign policy is still influenced by Britain’s imperial past. And because it had a strong military power and prestige, it had a big influence on the postwar international order. (*Some former colonies—Australia and Canada— still looked to Britain as the center of their political and cultural world.)

2. the foundations of British foreign policy

The contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits(地缘政治特点). 1）As Britain lost its empire so recently, British

policy-makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. 2）Another decisive influence upon the way Britain handles its external affairs is geopolitical. As Britain is an island, it has created a sense of isolation in its subjects, which results in Britain’s schizophrenic(精神分裂的，反复无常的) attitude to Europe. (But Britain’s physical isolation has long been reduced by the development of airlines and more recently by the opening of the Channel Tunnel, which links Britain to continental Europe)

当代英国的外交政策很大程度上受其帝国主义历史和地缘政治特点的影响。由于英国失去其帝权的时间还不长，英国的决策者们经常会忘记英国在世界事务中已经不如从前那样有影响力了这一事实。影响英国处理外事的的另一决定性因素是其地缘政治特点。英国岛国的地理位置使那里的居民产生了一种心理上的孤独感,这导致英国对于欧洲的态度反复无常。（但是这个问题由于飞机的发明和联系英国与欧洲大陆的海底隧道的开通而得到缓解。）

3. the making of Britain’s foreign policy 英国外交政策的制定

The general direction of Britain’s foreign policy is mainly decided by the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)(英国联邦与国际事务部), the main governme nt department, plays a significant role in the making of Britain’s foreign policy. Many other government ministries such as the Ministry of Defence and the Department of Trade and Industry also play a part in formulating and carrying out the government’s d ecisions. But an extremely influential player in Britain’s foreign policy is the Treasury. The Treasury makes decisions on how much money other departments can have each year.

英国外交政策的总体方向主要由首相和其内阁决定. 英国政府的主要部门，英国联邦与国际事务部, 在制定英国的外交政策方面起着重要的作用。许多其它的政府部门，比如，国防部，贸易与工业部在制定和执行政府的决议中也起着重要作用。但是对英国的外交政策影响极大的一个部门就是财政部。其它部门每年可以花费的金额由财政部来决定。

* Britain is parliamentary democracy, the government’s foreign policy in theory represents the desires of its electorate.

4. Britain’s relationship with international institutions

1) one of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council (联合国安理会常任理事国) — Russia, China, the US, France and the UK

2) its membership in the European Union (Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973, which has been called European Union since 1993. Britain’s participation in the EU remains controversial. At the center of the controversy is the fact that it is not clear about what the EU is and what it will become. The UK has always been interested in encouraging free trade between countries and is therefore very supportive of the EU as a free trade area. Britain likes to regard the EU as place where economic cooperation is possible and where a flow of trained personel and goods are possible. But Britain ha always been less enthusiastic about giving up its national sovereignty to a European government.)

英国于1973年加入欧洲经济共同体,1993年,欧共体被更名为欧盟.英国加入欧盟一事备受争议.争议的焦点是:关于欧盟的本质是什么,发展方向是什么,都不清楚.英国一直积极鼓励