[2008.11.01] 德国的外交政策：柏林障碍

Germany’s foreign policy
德国的外交政策

The Berlin stonewall
柏林障碍

Oct 30th 2008 | BERLIN
From The Economist print edition

Has Germany replaced France as America’s awkward ally?
德国已经取代法国成为美国的一个尴尬盟友了吗？

SOON after Angela Merkel became Germany’s chancellor in 2005, she met George Bush in Washington to open a “new chapter” in relations. Her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder, had been so stridently against the Iraq war that  he began to look anti-American. Ms Merkel, by contrast, had backed the war. Germany may belong to “old Europe”, as America once dismissed opponents of the war, but Ms Merkel, a child of communist East Germany, had the instincts of a new European. The easing of tensions was helped, too, by President Bush’s efforts to repair transatlantic relations in his second term.

2005年，当选为德国总理不久后的安格拉•默克尔便在华盛顿造访了小布什，从而掀开了两国关系崭新的一 页。默克尔的前任格哈特•施罗德曾大张旗鼓地反对向伊拉克开战使得他看起来就像一位反美人士。相比之下，默克尔却支持了这场战争。作为美国曾经在战争中不 屑一顾的对手，德国也许是“老欧洲”[注1]的一员，然而出生于共产主义东德的默克尔却有着作为一名新欧洲人的本能和直觉。与此同时，布什总统在第二个任 期里致力于修补大西洋两岸关系的努力也有助于缓和两国之间存在的紧张关系。

Yet frustration is creeping back in. On Russia, Iran and Afghanistan—trouble-spots that matter to both countries—Germany’s position is annoying Washington. At the NATO summit in Bucharest last April, Ms Merkel stood most visibly against American pressure to grant a Membership Action Plan—a road-map to join the alliance—to Ukraine and Georgia. This was a marked change from previous summits at which France habitually obstructed American proposals.

然而改善两国关系的前景却愈发不容乐观。在对两国都至关重要的麻烦事上—如俄罗斯，伊朗和阿富汗等问题上，德国的立场往往让美国政府恼火不已。在今年四月布加勒斯特召开的北约峰会上，美国要求准许乌克兰和格鲁吉亚加入北约成员行动计划（Membership Action Plan）（这一计划是加盟北约的路线图），而默克尔则旗帜鲜明地站在了反对美国这一施压行为的一边。与以往峰会上法国习惯性地阻挠美国的提议相比，默克尔的这一举动有着显著的不同。

After Russian troops pushed into Georgia in August, America wanted to ostracise the Kremlin while Germany appeared eager to return to business as usual. Germany has been the leading Western sceptic in toughening economic sanctions on Iran to discourage its alarming uranium-enrichment programme. In Afghanistan, moreover, Germany’s military commitment is hedged with “caveats” that keep its troops out of the fighting in the dangerous south of the country.

在俄罗斯军队今年8月大举入侵格鲁吉亚之后，美国曾试图孤立排斥俄罗斯政府，而德国则似乎迫切希望恢复与俄罗斯过去的贸易往来。在对伊朗实行严厉的经济制裁，迫使其放弃让人不安的铀浓缩计划上，德国一直是对这一行为持怀疑态度的主要西方国家。此外，在阿富汗问题上，德国所做的军事承诺也留有了余地：该承诺中的“附加说明”使得军队在该国南部危险地区的战斗中置身事外。

In a memorandum to the new American president, the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies, a think-tank, gives warning that Germany and America may “clash” over Iran and that differences over Russia could harm the relationship “severely”. In part, Germany’s problem is that it can no longer hide behind France now that President Nicolas Sarkozy has moved closer to America. He plans to lead France back into NATO’s integrated military structure next year.

在提交给美国新任总统的一份备忘录中，智库美国当代德国研究所提出警告说，德国和美国也许会在伊朗问题上意 见不一，而在对待俄罗斯问题上的分歧可能会严重损害到两国的关系。在某种程度上，德国的问题在于法国总统萨科奇实行更加亲美的政策后，德国再也无法隐藏于 法国的背后。萨科奇正计划明年带领法国重归北约一体化军事体系中。

“Berlin is the new Paris,” says a senior American official; that is where the “tough conversations” now take place. The tone of opinion columns can be merciless. “Germany by itself has enough economic leverage with Iran” to stop it from enriching uranium, thundered a recent article in the Wall Street Journal Europe; but for mercenary reasons it is not using it.

“这届德国政府就像新的法国政府一样，”一位资深的美国官员这样说道；而这正是两国目前能够展开彼此“艰难 对话”的缘由。报刊的许多专栏对此作出的评论毫不留情。《华尔街日报》欧洲版近期刊登的一篇文章语出惊人，“德国完全能够独自对伊朗施加经济影响迫使该国 停止铀浓缩。”；然而，出于经济利益的考虑，德国并没有这样做。

Germany’s inhibitions are the product of history, trade and tensions within the grand coalition government, which awkwardly yokes Ms Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union to the Social Democratic Party (SPD). It does not help that Frank-Walter Steinmeier, an SPD leader and her main political rival, is also the foreign minister. Still, both think Germany has a special role in oiling the wheels of international diplomacy, serving the interests of its allies even if they do not always appreciate it.

历史，贸易以及大联合政府内部的紧张关系是导致德国产生这些顾虑的原因。而德国的大联合政府体制使得默克尔 领导的保守主义政党—基督教民主联盟处处受制于社民党。更糟糕的是，默克尔的主要政敌—社民党领导人施泰因迈尔是该国的外交部长。不过，两人都认 为：德国在促进国际关系发展和服务于盟友的利益（即便有时并非心甘情愿）上发挥着举足轻重的作用。

The second world war left Germany allergic to militarism and eager for friendships. First it bound itself firmly into the Western alliance. Then, with Ostpolitik, it also befriended the Soviet block. Its pacific style no doubt helped trade (Germany is the world’s top exporter of goods), which in turn makes it more pacific.

第二次世界大战使得德国对军国主义深恶痛绝，德国迫切希望与他国建立起友好关系。起初，该国坚定不移地站在 西方国家联盟一边，随后在西欧国家东方政策[注2]的引导下，该国与苏联化敌为友。其奉行的和平外交无疑促进了该国的贸易发展（德国是世界上商品货物的最 大出口国），反过来也让该国更加和平安定。

Germany is the biggest Western exporter to Iran. Last year Russia was the second-fastest growing export market among Germany’s main trading partners. Germany imports more than a third of its oil and gas from Russia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia’s policies diverged from those of its neighbours, which made it harder for Germany to please them all. Mr Schröder’s government approved the Nord Stream gas pipeline from Russia under the Baltic Sea, bypassing, and enraging, Poland and the Baltic states. Mr Schröder now chairs the shareholders’ committee of the consortium building it.

西方国家中，德国是伊朗最大的出口国。去年，俄罗斯成为了德国主要贸易伙伴中增长速度第二快的出口市场。德 国所需的石油和天然气中有超过三分之一有赖于于俄罗斯进口。随着苏联的解体，俄罗斯与周边邻国政策之间的背道而驰使得德国更加难以取悦各方。施罗德政府曾 经在未征求波兰和波罗的海诸国同意的情况下，批准了从俄罗斯穿过波罗的海的北欧天然气管道项目，使得这些国家大为光火。施罗德现在却成为了建造这条管道企 业的股东委员会主席。

That said, Germany is reluctantly shedding its merchant pacifism. If Iran continues enriching uranium, Germany is edging towards approving sanctions that go beyond targeting goods related to nuclear proliferation. “Germany is playing a responsible role on Iran,” says a senior Israeli official, whose country has more to fear from an Iranian bomb than any other; Germany’s differences with its allies have been “tactical, not strategic”.

这表明，德国正无可奈何地抛弃自己曾经信奉的商业和平主义。如果伊朗继续进行铀浓缩活动，德国将逐渐支持对 伊朗进行超出与核扩散有关的材料制裁。与其他国家相比，以色列更加惧怕来自伊朗的炸弹袭击，该国的一位资深官员说道，“在伊朗问题上，德国正扮演着一个负 责任的角色。”；德国与它的盟友之间的分歧在于“处理问题的具体方法，而非在这一问题上所持有的观点和看法”。

On the use of force abroad, Germany has been changing “almost with the speed of light”, says John Kornblum, a former American ambassador to Germany. Before 1992, German soldiers were deployed abroad on strictly humanitarian missions. Now it has the third-largest contingent of troops in Afghanistan (rising from 3,500 to 4,500), including a “quick reaction force” ready for combat, mainly in the north. It has military missions in Lebanon, Bosnia and Sudan. The trouble is, says Mr Kornblum, that “the world is changing faster.”

前美国驻德大使约翰•科恩布卢姆说道，在驻外军队的筹划安排上，德国正飞速地发生着转变。1992年以前， 部署在国外的德国士兵的任务严格限制在执行人道主义行动上。如今，该国已经是派驻在阿富汗的军队人数第三多的国家（由过去的3500人增加到4500 人），这其中包括主要部署在阿富汗北部地区可以随时应战的“快速反应部队”。该国在黎巴嫩，波斯尼亚和苏丹也部署了军事部队。然而，正如科恩布卢姆所说， 问题在于“世界转变地还要快”。

German officials insist that its comparative advantage will remain its knack for talking to almost everyone. Mr Steinmeier, who will challenge Ms Merkel for the chancellorship next year, is renowned, and often reviled, for not allowing a foreign government’s shortcomings to spoil a fruitful relationship. A senior diplomat argues, for instance, that “rhetoric which excludes Russia pushes it in the wrong direction”. He rejects the idea that Mr Steinmeier favours “equidistance” between Russia and the United States, a notion advocated by some members of his party. Ms Merkel, though readier to be blunt with autocrats, nurtures Germany’s honest-broker role. Other leaders trust Germany, says her spokesman, because “it has no big-power ambitions”.

德国官员坚持认为，该国的这一相对优势依然将成为与几乎所有国家对话谈判的筹码。作为明年挑战默克尔总理宝 座的施迈因泰尔在不允许一个外国政府的缺点破坏掉富有成果的外交关系上享有声誉的同时也常常饱受着责难。例如，一位资深的外交官员认为，“排斥俄罗斯的言 论会使得俄罗斯走上错误的方向”。他不认为施迈因泰尔在俄罗斯和美国之间会采取其所在政党一些成员所提倡的“中立”立场。虽然动辄与专制独裁政权针锋相 对，默克尔却塑造了德国的诚实中间人角色。默克尔的发言人说道，其他国家的领导人信任德国，因为德国并没有大国的野心。

Germany hopes that the next American administration will prove easier to deal with than Mr Bush’s. But neither Barack Obama nor John McCain will be shy about making demands of American allies, especially when it comes to Iran and Afghanistan. With Germany about to enter its own election campaign, it may take a while to say yes to America.

德国希望下一届美国政府能够比布什政府更容易应付。但是无论是奥巴马还是麦凯恩，在对盟国进行要求上都不会有所顾虑，在伊朗和阿富汗问题上尤为如此。随着德国即将开始自己的竞选活动，该国唯美国马首是瞻也许还要花上一段时间。

[注1]：“老欧洲”是美国前国防部长拉姆斯菲尔德于2003年指责法国和德国为“老欧洲”的一番言论。美国有关“老欧洲”的认识，乃是对法德重新加强联盟后形成的一种“欧洲意识”和“欧洲政治”的恐惧，其根源是对目前美国与欧洲之间真实力量对比的一种认识。

[注2]：Ostpolitik（东方政策）：原联邦德国政府谋求的与东欧社会主义国家外交及贸易关系正常化的政策。

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译者：Phantom   http://www.ecocn.org/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=15216&extra=page%3D1