AMERICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY Volume 25, Number 4, Winter 2011 Huang Ping Hu Guocheng Zhao Mei Wei Hongxia Lu Ning Mei Renyi Fu Guoying Li Hui Qin Qin Editor Associate Editor Managing Editor Editorial Assistant Editorial Assistant English Polisher English Polisher Editorial Technician Proofreader Senior Advisers Chen Baosen, Wang Jisi, Zi Zhongyun Editorial Board Chu Shulong, Ding Xinghao, Han Tie, He Shunguo, Ji Hong, Jin Canrong, Li Daokui, Li Jianming, Liang Maoxin, Lu Jiande, Mei Renyi, Ni Feng, Ni Shixiong, Qin Yaqing, Ren Donglai, Ruan Zongze, Tao Wenzhao, Wang Rongjun, Wang Xi, Wang Zihong, Wu Baiyi, Xu Hui, Xu Tongwu, Yang Jiemian, Yuan Ming, Yuan Zheng, Zhang Yuyan, Zhou Qi AMERICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY is published jointly by the Chinese Association for American Studies and the Institute of American Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The content of the articles in this journal should not be construed as reflecting the views of either the Association or the Institute. MANUSCRIPTS SHOULD BE SENT TO: American Studies Quarterly at the Institute of American Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Addr. Unit A, No.158, Gulouxidajie, Xicheng District, Beijing 100720, China). SUBSCRIPTIONS: Call (8610) 8408-3531, 8408-3528 Fax: (8610) 8408-3506 Email: mgyjjk@gmail.com http://www.mgyj.com ISSN1002-8986Copyright 1987-2011 American Studies Quarterly Printed in Beijing, China AMERICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY Winter 2011, Vol. 25, No. 4 ARTICLES On U.S. Policy Toward The International Criminal Court(Jia Hao) Based upon a survey of the establishment and evolution of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including the contention between “the LikeMinded States” and the United States, this paper compares and analyzes the changing policy under the Clinton, Bush and Obama Administrations toward the ICC and the relationship between the each administration and ICC during the last two decades. The author highlights the two unchanged “policy cores” of the three U.S. Administrations: attempts to control and intervene in the ICC through the UN Security Council and demanding “judicial immunity” for all American nationals. It is further argued that, from the perspective of U.S. global strategy and national interest, applying military force internationally when needed is the underlining premise of the “policy cores”. These two “policy cores” and the premise will thus continue to influence the U.S. policy toward the ICC, resulting potentially in new frictions between the U.S. and ICC in the near and long terms, particularly when an emergency event occurs in the global hot spots and when the Aggression Amendments of the Rome Statute takes effect expectedly after 2017. A Legal Perspective on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Incident in the Gulf of Mexico(Xiang Zaisheng) The Deepwater Horizon oil spill will be dealt by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) and other national oil pollution liability laws. Compared with the U.S. related laws in the past and the existing international oil pollution liability conventions, the current system of oil pollution liability in the U.S.A. has not only expanded the coverage of the oil pollution liability, but also raised a much higher liability limit. Under such oil pollution liability laws of the U.S.A., BP not only will have to pay for the removal costs and wideranged damage compensations, but also will face many kinds of criminal and civil penalties as well. And since the OPA has laid down harsh restrictions for the application of its limitation of liability provisions, it will be very difficult for BP to benefit from the limitation of liabilities. On the SinoU.S. Relationship in Cyberspace and Outer Space in the Information Age(Gao Wanglai) Both cyberspace and outer space have become key strategic spaces in the Information Age. The U.S. national security documents of recent years have expanded the scope of U.S. strategic interests by adding cyberspace and outer space as their new dimensions. In the information spaces, the United States pursues an aggressive and preemptive policy to seek full spectrum dominance. There are huge gaps between China and the U.S. in cyberspace and outerspace technologies. In the future, China and the United States can start their cooperation from the nonsensitive and nonmilitary areas with other joint efforts of multilateral cooperation, and broaden the agenda of cooperation through innovative thinking, so as to establish a more stable order of the information spaces. The U.S. Maritime Management System and Obamas Maritime Policy(Xia Liping and Su Ping) The development of the U.S. maritime management system has mainly moved through three different stages: the management under different administrative regions, the management under different agencies and the integrated management. There are several important factors affecting the development of the U.S. maritime management system, among which are the understanding of national interest and security, international maritime law, interests groups, power struggle between state governments and the federal government. After the Obama Administration took office, the maritime management system has been further strengthened. The Administration has taken several important measures to coordinate the work of the maritime management of the federal government agencies, including the founding of the National Maritime Council, the establishment of the integrated, the regionalcoordinated management system of ecological protection, an enhancement to U.S. Coast Guard lawenforcement capability. These measures meet the needs of the U.S. integrated maritime management system. But the U.S. Government continues to adopt selective multilateralism in the international maritime management in accordance with its own national interest, which has some negative effects on the maritime security of other countries. Group of Two (G2): A Historical Review(Gu Guoping and Mei Renyi) Ever since its birth in the 1970s, G2 has gone through four versions-a US-Germany G2, a US-Japan G2, a US-EU G2 and the most recent US-China G2. The choice of four different countries or regions in different periods shows American strategists' sensitivity to the change of power in the international system and their openness to foreign policy alternatives. The four versions of G2 also reveal great similarities in America's foreign policy considerations: as each of these versions was floated in a time when the United States was bogged down in domestic and international difficulties while the other country/region was on the rise, they were part of America's burdensharing strategy, encouraging others to take on greater international responsibilities in the UScentered international system. The Changes and Characteristics of U.S. Peacekeeping Policy after the Cold War(Zhao Lei) Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. peacekeeping policy has undergone three major changes: from Effective Internationalism to Assertive Multilateralism, from Selective Multilateralism to American Internationalism, and currently to Effective Multilateralism. Although U.S. peacekeeping policy sometimes seems to be inconsistent or even contradictory, it has been basically developing along a main line, that is, the extent of U.S. support of and participation in peacekeeping operations depends on U.S. governments perception of the relation between its national interests and the operations, as well as on the complex interaction between the governments perception and the domestic pressure from the Congress and the public. DOCUMENTS AND RESEARCH Survey of American Study of the Taiwan Strait Issues(Yan Quan) ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES Summary of Symposium on Debt Crisis, Domestic Politics and American Power(Shen Peng) Summary of Symposium on Smart Power and USChina Relations(Zhou Yimin) New Books Name List of Peer Reviewers of 2011 General Catalog of American Studies Quarterly of 2011 Editor's Note