The Japanese tsunami has called into question the future of nuclear energy worldwide. And, perhaps most remarkably, the relative global decline of the United States, the world’s economic and security anchor since 1945, became unmistakable in 2011, reflected in political polarization and paralysis – and punctuated by a credit-rating downgrade.
这与冷战结束后，和平、可预测和安全的“后历史”世界（当时非常流行）将来临的预测形成鲜明的对比。一年前，阿拉伯起义还是无法想象的，如今该起义对盛行了半个多世纪的地区秩序构成了挑战。日本的海啸使人们对世界各地核能的未来产生了疑问。此外，或许最显著的是，2011年，美国（自1945年以来一直是世界经济和安全的领导者）在全球相对衰落日益明确无误，表现有政治极端化和瘫痪以及信用评级遭降。