世界：简介
作者：理查德·哈斯 2020 年 5 月 12 日
https://www.amazon.ca/World-Brief-Introduction-Richard-Haass/dp/0399562397
“对塑造现代全球体系的历史、外交、经济和社会力量进行了清晰而简洁的描述。” -外交事务
这是外交关系委员会主席理查德·哈斯 (Richard Haass) 撰写的一本宝贵的入门读物，它将帮助任何人，无论是专家还是非专家，度过一个我们面临的许多最大挑战来自境外世界的时代。
不管你喜欢与否，我们生活在一个全球化时代，千里之外发生的事情都有可能影响我们的生活。 这次，是一种被称为Covid-19的冠状病毒，它起源于一个许多人从未听说过的中国城市，但已经传播到地球的各个角落。 下次很可能是来自其他地方的另一种传染病。 二十年前，一群在阿富汗受过训练、手持开箱刀的恐怖分子劫持了四架飞机，将它们撞向建筑物（其中一次还撞向田野），夺去了近三千人的生命。 下次可能是恐怖分子使用卡车炸弹或获得大规模杀伤性武器。 2016 年，俄罗斯一栋不起眼的办公楼内的黑客通过虚拟方式在网络空间中操纵美国选举。 现在他们已经渗透到我们的政治生活中。 近年来，与气候变化有关的严重飓风和大火肆虐了地球部分地区； 未来我们可以预见更严重的自然灾害。 2008年，这是一场由美国抵押贷款支持证券引发的全球金融危机，但有一天，它很可能成为一场源自欧洲、亚洲或非洲的金融危机。 这是21世纪的新常态。
《世界》旨在为任何年龄和经验的读者提供理解这个复杂且相互关联的世界所需的基本背景和构建模块。 它将帮助他们管理海量的每日新闻。 读者将成为更加见多识广、眼光敏锐的公民，能够更好地做出合理、独立的判断。 虽然不可能预测下一场危机将会是什么或起源于何处，但阅读《世界》的人将获得了解其基础知识以及如何应对的主要选择所需的知识。
简而言之，这本书将提高读者的全球素养，让他们能够理解这个时代。 全球素养——了解世界如何运作——是必须的，因为一个国家外部发生的事情对内部发生的事情非常重要。 尽管美国毗邻两个海洋，但这些海洋并不是护城河。 所谓的维加斯规则——那里发生的事情就留在那里——在当今世界并不适用于任何地方的任何人。 美国的外交政策是美国独有的，但美国人寻求塑造的世界却并非如此。 全球化有好有坏，但个人或国家不能选择退出。 即使我们想忽视世界，它也不会忽视我们。 我们面临的选择是如何应对。
我们以各种方式与这个世界相连。 无论是作为学生、公民、选民、家长、雇员还是投资者，我们都需要更好地理解它，包括它的承诺和威胁，以便做出明智的选择。 为了帮助读者做到这一点，《世界》重点关注重要历史、世界每个地区的运转因素、全球化带来的诸多挑战以及最具影响力的国家、事件和思想。 理查德·哈斯的《世界》以智慧和清晰的方式解释了复杂的思想，是一本常青的书，随着历史的不断发展，它将保持相关性和有用性。
The World: A Brief Introduction
by Richard Haass May 12 2020
“A clear and concise account of the history, diplomacy, economics, and societal forces that have molded the modern global system.” —Foreign Affairs
An invaluable primer from Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations, that will help anyone, expert and non-expert alike, navigate a time in which many of our biggest challenges come from the world beyond our borders.
Like it or not, we live in a global era, in which what happens thousands of miles away has the ability to affect our lives. This time, it is a Coronavirus known as Covid-19, which originated in a Chinese city many had never heard of but has spread to the corners of the earth. Next time it could well be another infectious disease from somewhere else. Twenty years ago it was a group of terrorists trained in Afghanistan and armed with box-cutters who commandeered four airplanes and flew them into buildings (and in one case a field) and claimed nearly three thousand lives. Next time it could be terrorists who use a truck bomb or gain access to a weapon of mass destruction. In 2016 hackers in a nondescript office building in Russia traveled virtually in cyberspace to manipulate America's elections. Now they have burrowed into our political life. In recent years, severe hurricanes and large fires linked to climate change have ravaged parts of the earth; in the future we can anticipate even more serious natural disasters. In 2008, it was a global financial crisis caused by mortgage-backed securities in America, but one day it could well be a financial contagion originating in Europe, Asia, or Africa. This is the new normal of the 21st century.
The World is designed to provide readers of any age and experience with the essential background and building blocks they need to make sense of this complicated and interconnected world. It will empower them to manage the flood of daily news. Readers will become more informed, discerning citizens, better able to arrive at sound, independent judgments. While it is impossible to predict what the next crisis will be or where it will originate, those who read The World will have what they need to understand its basics and the principal choices for how to respond.
In short, this book will make readers more globally literate and put them in a position to make sense of this era. Global literacy--knowing how the world works—is a must, as what goes on outside a country matters enormously to what happens inside. Although the United States is bordered by two oceans, those oceans are not moats. And the so-called Vegas rule—what happens there stays there—does not apply in today's world to anyone anywhere. U.S. foreign policy is uniquely American, but the world Americans seek to shape is not. Globalization can be both good and bad, but it is not something that individuals or countries can opt out of. Even if we want to ignore the world, it will not ignore us. The choice we face is how to respond.
We are connected to this world in all sorts of ways. We need to better understand it, both its promise and its threats, in order to make informed choices, be it as students, citizens, voters, parents, employees, or investors. To help readers do just that, The World focuses on essential history, what makes each region of the world tick, the many challenges globalization presents, and the most influential countries, events, and ideas. Explaining complex ideas with wisdom and clarity, Richard Haass's The World is an evergreen book that will remain relevant and useful as history continues to unfold.
