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Soft power superpower

(原标题)软实力超级大国

Global trends in cultural engagement and influence

(副标题)全球文化参与与文化影响力变化趋势

Author: Alistair MacDonald

作者:阿利斯泰尔·麦克唐纳

About the British Council

关于英国文化协会

We work with over 100 countries across the world in the fields of arts and culture, English language, education and civil society. Last year we reached over 65 million people directly and 731 million people overall including online,broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934, we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body.

我们在文化艺术、英语语言、教育和公民社会领域和全世界一百多个国家开展了合作。去年,我们的直接受众超过了6500万人,包含线上、广播和出版物的总受众人口达7.31亿。英国文化协会创立于1934年,是一家英国慈善机构,经皇家特许,由一家英国公共机构管理。

Contents

目录

Foreword 02
Executive summary 03
Introduction 04
The global presence of international cultural institutions 06
Leading nations’ approaches to soft power 13
Conclusion 37
Recommendations

前言
概要
导言
国际文化机构的全球存在
全球主要国家构建软实力之路
结论
建议

Foreword

前言



(译注:另类事实(alternative fact)即在既定事实基础上以另类视角解读出的另一种事实)

The UK has a strong national brand and powerful institutions, including the BBC World Service and the British Council. We are, currently, a ‘soft power superpower’. Yet that status is under threat. Severe financial pressures on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have undermined the reach and capability of the diplomatic network, and has affected the work of the BBC World Service and the British Council at the very time other countries are seeking to increase their global influence and expand their international networks. These institutions are essential to the national interest.

英国拥有强劲的国家品牌和各种强大的机构,包括BBC全球服务和英国文化协会。目前,我们是一个“软实力超级大国”。但是,这种地位正遭受威胁。外交和联邦事务部所承受的严峻财政压力已经殆害了覆盖面和外交网络的能力,也已经影响到了BBC全球服务和英国文化协会的工作,而就在同一时间,其他国家正在寻求增强其全球影响力,并扩张其国际网络。这些机构对于国家利益来说是至关重要的。

By learning from the experiences of other leading soft powers and making the necessary investment and policy changes, we can retain and secure the UK’s influence and ensure that we remain one of the most connected and influential nations of the 21st Century. To not do so would be to place our international influence, prosperity and security in jeopardy.

通过学习其他软实力大国的经验、作出必要的投资、外加政策转变,我们就能保住英国的影响力并使其免受伤害,并确保我们仍然是21世纪结交最广泛、最有影响力的国家之一。如果不这么做,就会把我们的国际影响力、我们的繁荣与安全置于险境。

Executive summary

概要

The UK’s soft power, its global influence and attractiveness, is crucial to the country’s international success. It underpins our security and prosperity both directly by fostering trust and increasing the UK’s ability to shape global events, attracting investors, tourists and international students to the UK but also by serving as a multiplying factor to the UK’s hard economic and military capacity. While over the past century the UK has seen its economic and military power decline relative to others, it is universally recognised as a leading soft power. It has even been described as a ‘soft power superpower’, coming first in the 2018 Portland Communications Soft Power 30 index ahead of other leading soft powers like France, Germany and the US. But just as the age of the British Empire has been consigned to the history books, the UK’s current status as a soft power superpower is no guarantee of future success in what is an ever more complex and fast changing world.

英国的软实力、全球影响力以及吸引力,对于这个国家在全世界的成功是至关重要的。它巩固了我们的安全与繁荣,既是直接通过培养信任以及英国影响国际事件、吸引投资者/游客/国际学生来英的能力,也是通过充当陷于艰困的英国经济军事能力的倍增器。虽然在过去的一个世纪中,英国的经济和军事实力相对于其他国家出现了不断下降的情况,但还是被普遍认为是一个软实力大国。它甚至被描述为“软实力超级大国”,在2018年的波特兰传播软实力30指数中位列首位,领先于其他软实力大国,比如法国、德国和美国。但是,正如大英帝国的时代已然被打入了历史书本,英国当前的软实力超级大国地位在一个越来越复杂且瞬息万变的世界中,是无法保证其未来的成功的。

(译注:波特兰传播是一家政治咨询和公共关系机构,由蒂姆·艾伦于2001年创立,他曾是托尼·布莱尔[2]的顾问和BSkyB的传播总监,其团队来自媒体、政治和政府最高层)

A state’s soft power can wax and wane over time, its influence can be strengthened or undermined by the words and deeds of governments. Hard power interventions can destroy in days and hours the trust, confidence and understanding that may have accumulated over years from a country’s soft power. For example, military interventions in Iraq and Libya have harmed the standing of the UK and other Western states in the Middle East and North Africa, but so too has perceived inaction over Syria. Domestic policy can also undermine soft power, the UK’s visa regulations can act as a barrier, undermining its ability to engage the leaders of tomorrow and to build the networks on which UK influence depends. But perhaps the greatest threat to the UK’s soft power is complacency, hubris and neglect. Other countries are increasingly recognising the importance of soft power to the realisation of their global ambitions and investing heavily to increase their reach and impact, to tell their stories and shape the international agenda. Russia and China in particular have been massively expanding their investment in the traditional stalwarts of soft power projection – international broadcasting and international cultural institutes and programmes.

一国的软实力会随着时间流逝而兴衰轮转,其影响力会因为政府的言行而增强或削弱。硬实力的干预,可以在数天甚至数小时内摧毁一国软实力经多年积累而成的信任、信心和默契。举例来说,对伊拉克和利比亚的军事干预已经损害了英国和其他西方国家在中东和北非地区的地位和声望,但这样一来也让人察觉出了其在叙利亚的无所作为。国内政策也会削弱软实力,英国的签证条例可能形同一道障碍,削弱了吸引未来领导人以及构建英国影响力籍以依托的网络的能力。但是,对英国软实力最严重的威胁可能是自满、狂妄和疏忽。其他国家正日渐认识到软实力对于实现其全球野心的重要性,并正大举投资以增加其受众,提升其影响力,为的就是讲述它们的故事并左右国际议程。特别是俄罗斯和中国,它们一直在大幅扩大对投射软实力的传统支点的投资,也就是国际广播,以及国际文化机构和国际文化节目。

This report sets out to explore the major global trends in soft power today. For example, in the last five years alone, China’s network of Confucius Institutes has grown from 320 to 507. It is now by far the largest of the international cultural institutes. The network of the Russkiy Mir Foundation has doubled to 171 centres from just 82 in 2013. Other nations in Asia such as Japan and South Korea are also expanding their investment and activity in these areas. In contrast, the cultural institutes of European
nations are largely static or reducing their global footprint.

本报告将探索当今软实力消长在全球范围内的主要趋势。比如说,仅在过去五年中,中国的孔子学院网络已经从320家增至507家。到目前为止,它是规模最大的国际文化机构。“俄罗斯世界”基金会的网络已经从2013年的82家中心翻倍为171家。其他的亚洲国家比如日韩,也正在这些领域中扩大投资和活动。对比之下,欧洲国家的文化机构大都处于停滞状态,或是减少了在全球的存在。

The British Council office network for example has by contrast shrunk by ten per cent over the same period.

例如,相比之下,英国文化协会的办公室网络在同一时段内缩水了百分之十。



To maintain its leading position among the soft power superpowers, the UK needs an ‘open Brexit’, one that embraces an ambitious vision and strategy for UK soft power, backed by sufficient investment; a continued commitment to multilateral co-operation and development; and a renewed investment in the diplomatic network.
Becoming a truly global Britain of this kind can enhance rather than undermine the UK’s global influence, security and prosperity after the 29 March 2019.

为了在各大软实力超级大国中维持住领先地位,英国需要的是一种“开放式的英国脱欧”,这种脱欧须把一种雄心勃勃的愿景和促进英国软实力的战略囊括在内,须由充分的投资来支持,继续致力于多边合作和发展,并恢复对外交网络的投入。成为一个诸如此类的、真正意义上的全球化的英国,就能在2019年3月29日之后,强化而不是削弱英国的全球影响力、安全和繁荣。

(译注:根据英国与欧盟的协议,英国将在2019年3月29日正式脱欧)