AMERICAN STUDIES Autumn 1992 Vol. 6, No. 3 CONTENTS COMMENTS ON ECONOMIC REPORT OF THE PRESIDENT 1992 Chen Baosen（7） U.S. economy is faced with serious challenges at present. Economic Report of the President 1992 puts forward countermeasures to meet the challenges and to carry out economic readjustments. It reflects the features of pragmatism and steadiness in the economic policy of the Bush Administration. The accomplishment of the readjustments, however, will rely upon concerted actions based on bipartisanship. PROGRESS OF NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT Wu Zhan（26） During the last decade, the U.S.-Soviet/Russian nuclear arms control has undergone changes from limiting the quantity of nuclear weapons and preserving the status quo to real and substantial reduction of those weapons, from limitations on an equal footing to unequal cutting, and from difficult negotiations amidst mutual suspicion to successful agreements. All these changes have come about on account of the softening of position on the part of the Soviet Union and Russia at present caused by economic failure. WHERE IS U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY STRATEGY HEADING FOR Song Jiuguang（41） To get adapted to the post-Cold-War world situation, American national security strategy has undergone requisite readjustments. Nevertheless, they are mostly shifts of policy priorities rather than changes of the fundamental framework of the strategy. This means that the continuity of that strategy has not been broken after all. GIVING AID OR JUST STANDING BY: THE BEGINNING OF U.S. AID TO YUGOSLAVIA Shi Yinhong（56） Judging from U.S. policy toward Yugoslavia after early 1949, the United States dealt successfully with the dilemma in its policy toward Yugoslavia after the Soviet-Yugoslavian split. This was due to the maintenance of a sensible balance among basic geopolitical strategic interest, indirect strategic interest and ideological interest. U.S. TAIWAN POLICY DURING THE SECOND TAIWAN STRAIT CRISIS Zheng Yongping（77） This essay reviews the American policy toward Taiwan and the Offshore Islands in 1958. It points out that the measures taken by the United States were aimed at containing the military operations by the Kuomintang and the Communists over the Taiwan Strait with limited U.S. armed involvement, and thereby separating Taiwan from the mainland. THE POWER BALANCE BETWEEN THE WHITE HOUSE STAFF AND THE CABINET MEMBERS Yuan Ruijun（97） In the conflict between the White House staff and the cabinet, the status and role of the president's staff are steadily growing and becoming the primary force that the president can rely upon. This plays a positive role in helping the president fulfill his duties more effectively, but at the same time poses worrisome problems to the American political system because the internal power structure within the executive branch has been seriously shaken. CHALLENGES TO THE MAIN STREAM OF AMERICAN CULTURE Shen Zongmei（118） The values on which the whole system of the United States is founded has been confronted with unprecedented challenges. For instance, changes in the content of college courses and in the social backgrounds of teachers and students, and the inversion of the value system all indicate that the character of American society is undergoing a drastic transformation. NOTES ON THE GREAT GATSBY Zhao Mei（150） If considered only in the general sense of the “American Dream”, Gatsby, a hero in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, has his dream realized after having built up his huge wealth by personal efforts. Yet to Gatsby, the eternal dream of humanity - the dream of love - has been shattered. AMERICAN STUDIES, a quarterly, is published jointly by the Chinese Association for American Studies, and the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The content of the articles in this journal should not be construed as reflecting the views either of the Association or the Institute.