"国际体系中的国家也以确保自己的安全为目标。由于他国是潜在的威胁,而当国家拨打911时,没有更高的权威赶来救援,所以它们不能依靠其他国家保护自己的安全。每个国家都把自己看成孤单且易受攻击的一方,因此,它为自己的生存提供保障。在国际政治中,天助自助之人。强调自助并不排除国家结成联盟。但联盟只是图一时之便的权宜结合(marriage of convenience):今天的联盟伙伴可能是明天的敌人,今天的敌人也可能是明天的联盟伙伴。例如,在二战中,美国与中国和苏联并肩反对德国和日本,但随后不久,美国的敌人和伙伴角色转换了,在冷战期间,它又联合联邦德国和日本抗衡中国与苏联。 在一个自助世界里,国家总是按"
"A hegemon is a state that is so powerful that it dominates all the other states in the system. ... it is virtually impossible for any state to achieve global hegemony. ... The best outcome a great power can hope for is to be a regional hegemon and possibly control another region that is nearby and a"
"In short, great powers balance against capabilities, not intentions."
"Security also trumps wealth when those two goals conflict, because “defence,” as Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations, “is of much more importance than opulence.” ... “The act of navigation,” Smith wrote, “is not favorable to foreign commerce, or to the growth of that opulence that can arise fr"