摘要
The international strategic landscape was highly volatile and complex in 2012, and there were a number of salient features worthy of special attention. These salient features will likely persist as basic trends of the global strategic picture in the coming five to ten years.
Three main driving forces were at work behind the world strategic architecture in 2012. The first of these was the continuing worldwide economic slump. The second was the shifting US self-definition of its strategic stance, under a succession of slogans like ＇Return to Asia-Pacific,＇ ＇Eastward Strategic Shift,＇ ＇Pivot to East Asia＇ and finally ＇Rebalancing＇ gradually refining and clarifying the direction, content and characteristics of US strategic readjustments. The third was the vicissitudes in global trends： these included the weakening of regional integration and global multipolarity, the cooling of desire for Westernization and democratization, the waning geo-political significance of the Middle East in contrast with ongoing upturn in Asia-Pacific, and looming of a third industrial revolution.
