最值得期待的年度重磅之作
《歐亞世紀:熱戰、冷戰,當代世界的形成》(The Eurasian Century)獲外交政策雜誌評選為2025年高度期待的年度重磅之作。本書作者白蘭斯(Hal Brands)為華府最知名的外交及戰略國際研究學院——約翰霍普金斯高等國際研究學院特聘教授、美國企業研究所智庫學者,曾擔任美國國防部長的戰略規劃特別助理、美國國家防務戰略委員會首席撰稿人,長期投入分析國家戰略與世界秩序。
白蘭斯在本書開門見山地表述,人們大多認同如今是美國強權的時代,而忽略了真相——我們仍身處於一個漫長且暴力的歐亞世紀。歐亞大陸幅員遼闊,全球大部分的人口居住在這塊巨大的土地上,它擁有豐富的資源、工業實力、潛在的軍事力量,並連接四大洋。歐亞大陸是一個無與倫比的戰略寶地,也正因如此,人們競相爭奪這片超級大陸,引發大規模的戰爭和毀滅,使得世界數度陷入動盪。
德國、蘇聯都曾試圖掌控歐亞大陸,海洋另一端的英國和美國則努力維持平衡以保障民主和安全。如今,地緣政治博弈的主要參與者分別是美國及其競爭對手——中國、俄羅斯和伊朗,如果具野心的威權軸心成功掌控了國際秩序,那麼美國和其他民主國家,將變得脆弱不安。
看清歐亞的戰略地理、全球衝突起源及利害關係,掌握科技及軍事變革、征服者意識形態的興起,是我們了解當今世界局勢的關鍵議題,本書對於所有關注國際衝突與競爭關係的讀者來說,是不可錯過的重要作品。(文/博客來編譯)
We often think of the modern era as the age of American power. In reality, we’re living in a long, violent Eurasian century. That giant, resource-rich landmass possesses the bulk of the global population, industrial might, and potential military power; it touches all four of the great oceans. Eurasia is a strategic prize without equal--which is why the world has been roiled, reshaped, and nearly destroyed by clashes over the supercontinent.
Since the early twentieth century, autocratic powers--from Germany under Kaiser Wilhelm II to the Soviet Union--have aspired for dominance by seizing commanding positions in the world’s strategic heartland. Offshore sea powers, namely the United Kingdom and America, have sought to make the world safe for democracy by keeping Eurasia in balance. America’s rivalries with China, Russia, and Iran are the next round in this geopolitical game. If this new authoritarian axis succeeds in enacting a radically revised international order, America and other democracies will be vulnerable and insecure.
Hal Brands, a renowned expert on global affairs, argues that a better understanding of Eurasia’s strategic geography can illuminate the contours of rivalry and conflict in today’s world. The Eurasian Century explains how revolutions in technology and warfare, and the rise of toxic ideologies of conquest, made Eurasia the center of twentieth-century geopolitics--with pressing implications for the struggles that will define the twenty-first.