建构主义视角下的北约东扩

北约是冷战期间两大阵营对峙的产物。冷战后,北约经过两次东扩,其成员国由冷战结束时的16国扩大到26国。在其成员国地域扩大的同时,北约的性质、职能也发生相应的转化。学界一般用新现实主义的威胁平衡和新自由主义的相互依赖以获得绝对收益两种理论来解释北约东扩。文章认为,除了以上两种分析视角,建构主义也有一定的解释空间。从建构主义理论来看,北约东扩是一种同源文明的融合,是安全共同体作用的结果,更体现了共同价值观的内化或社会化。

NATO's East-Expansion: From the Perspective of Constructivism

NATO is the outcome of the Cold War.After the Cold War,NATO has undergone eastward expansions twice,the number of its members having increased from 16 when the Cold War ended to 26 at present.While its area is enlarging,NATO's character and function is changing accordingly.Scholars usually explain NATO's eastward-expansion via the theory of threat-balance,created by Neo-realism,and the theory of mutual dependency aimed at the absolute interest,created by Neo-liberalism.It is argued that besides the above two perspectives,constructivism has also some explanatory power.From the view of constructivism,NATO's eastward expansion is the amalgamation of cognate cultures,the outcome produced by the security community,and it also represents the socialization of common values.