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出版物简介
2012 年第4期
作者:周琪等 来源: 时间:2015-07-02
AMERICAN STUDIES QUARTERLY Winter 2012Vol. 26, No. 4 FOCAL TOPIC: 2012 U.S. Elections and SinoU.S. Relations Reasons for Obamas Reelection and Challenges in his Second TermZhou Qi and Qi Hao (7) In the 2012 American presidential election, the incumbent President Barack Obama was reelected by a large margin. Main factors for Obamas victory include the improvement of the economy and employment, support by the majority of ethnic minorities, and greater favorability of the midlow income group. Nevertheless, in his second term,at home, a gravely polarized society and the persistent wrangling between the two parties in Congress would block Obamas efforts to fulfill his following policy objectives: to put the medical care reform act into practice, to develop clean energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to push a new immigration law by working with the Congress. Abroad, the Obama administration has shown the intention to continue the strategy of “rebalancing” towards the AsiaPacific. However, the Obama administration would be confronted with two problems. One is to maintain a balance between strengthening the ties with its traditional Asian allies and developing cooperative relations with China. The other is that the serious and complicating situation in the Middle East may hold back his strategic adjustment. Cycles, Party Realignment, and Sectionalism of American Presidential Elections in Historical and Comparative PerspectivesXie Tao(30) Most of the studies of American presidential elections are singlecase studies that focus on the present election and hence fail to put the election outcome in proper historicalcomparative context. Based on theories of historical cycles, party realignment, and sectionalism, this paper argues that the elections of 1968 and 1992 are critical elections that have resulted in partisan and sectional realignments. The paper further argues that the outcome of the 2012 election largely continues the patterns of partisan and sectional realignments established in the wake of the 1992 election. The paper predicts that there would be a new round of party realignment after 2016, when Barack Obamas second term ends. The 2012 U.S. Presidential Election and SinoUS RelationsZhang Yeliang(46) The issue of China and U.S. policy toward China remained a hot topic throughout the 2012 American presidential election. Contrary to political and security issues in the preceding elections after the Cold War, the China issue in this election centered on economic and trade issues that are related with American domestic economic problems. Bashing China on such issues as the renminbi exchange rate, trade practice, intellectual property rights, and Chinas holdings of U. S. Treasury securities, as well as how to cope with Chinas economic competition were two recurring themes when the presidential candidates mentioned China in the campaign trail. Apart from campaign interests and American public anxiety over their living conditions under the sluggish economy and job situation, how to deal with a rising China and its challenges to U.S. global supremacy, which is one of the key foreign policy issues the next U.S. president has to address, was the inherent and more important factor that made China a campaign issue. This reflects, in a sense, the structural changes of U.S.China relations caused by the rise of China and the narrowing of the power gap between the two countries. Economy will become the most intensive area in SinoU.S. strategic competition. The 2012 U.S. Congressional Elections and the Influence of the New Congress on U.S. Policy towards ChinaDiao Daming(68) The 2012 Congressional Elections show the vigorous return of partisanship. With redistricting and Presidential coattail effects, the trend of partisan polarization continues. The Democrats has got slight gain in Southern red states as a result of changing demographic structure, especially the growth of minority, while the Republican Party is driven further right by the Tea Party. Consequently, the partisan stalemate in Congress will stay for a long time, and the newlyelected Congress will continue to battle with President Obama on many domestic and foreign issues, which undoubtedly will distort national interest and land Americanstyle democracy deeply in myth and confusion. As for the US China policy, the Congress may continue to play the role of “discordant note”, which is likely to disrupt the steady and healthy development of SinoUS relations. The article argues that the divided government may provoke more negative actions on the China issue, and hence bring unnecessary cost to the bilateral relations. Moreover, the changes and adjustments of the members and leaderships in the key congressional committees, in the key congressional caucuses, and the changes of the congressional members relating to China, and even changes of Tea Party members will increase the possibility of the negative impact of the 113th Congress on the China issue. ARTICLES Filibuster in the U.S. Senate: Controversy, Reform and InfluenceHe Xingqiang(91) Filibuster, a powerful parliamentary device to delay or entirely obstruct a vote on a given bill with actions such as prolonged speech or other procedures in the United States Senate, was employed frequently in recent years. It reveals the intensity of polarization in U.S. politics at present. It also works as an important cause for the polarization and even turns it more polarized. Senators use filibusters more frequently on domestic issues, less in foreign affairs. The controversies and reforms on filibuster in U.S. domestic politics reflect the conflict between the forces to protect the minority and the underlying principles of checks and balances and the groups to ensure majority rule so as to safeguard efficiency and smooth operation of the government. Filibuster embodies the values of U.S. democracy in protecting minority rights and restraining unlimited powers. The Politics of Demonstration and the Combat against the Tudeh Party: the Point Four Program in IranYu Gongde (111) According to the containment strategy of the Cold War, the U.S. government implemented the Point Four Program in Iran out of concern over the rapid growth of the communist party Tudeh. To combat the appeal of the communist ideal among the Iranians, the U.S. government underlined the importance of demonstration and devoted to spreading an ideal of progress and a mode of development by carrying out the Program. Through the war of ideals, the U.S. government hoped to win the hearts of the Iranian people against the Tudeh Party, but it was not successful in the end. In Remembrance of Professor Nancy Bernkopf Tucker by her Fellow Scholars In Memory of Professor Nancy Bernkopf TuckerTao Wenzhao (127) Contact and Impression: Recollections of Professor Nancy Bernkopf TuckerZhang Baijia (132) Nancy in the Eyes of a Good FriendBonnie Glaser (134) Teacher, Friend and Family Member: Recalling Nancy Bernkopf TuckerHe Di (136) She Was Fully Committed To Her WorkKenneth Lieberthal (140) My Memory of Professor Nancy Bernkopf TuckerNiu Jun (141) ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES Summary of the Symposium on “the Future of SinoUS Strategic Relations in the Wake of 2012 American Elections”Wang Huan (143) Summary of the Annual Conference of China Association of the Study of American Economy and Symposium of “the Direction of American Economy and SinoU.S. Economic and Trade Relations” Liu Yuanling (145) Summary of International Symposium on “NGOs and American Foreign Relations”Tao Feiqi (148) Summary of the Forum on “Democracy, Republic and Nation Building in the Jefferson Era”Shao Sheng and He Qian (152) A Note Of Thanks(156) General Catalog of American Studies Quarterly in 2012(157) Editors Note(160)
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