Power in world politics today is distributed like a three-dimensional chess game that is played vertically as well as horizontally. On the top board of military relations among states, the US is the world’s only superpower with global reach.
即使是这样，欧洲的前景也不像悲观主义者所设想的那样黯淡。当今世界政治的力量分布就宛若一个三维国际象棋，阡陌纵横。在军事力量的顶层棋盘上，美国是世界唯一具备影响全球能力的超级霸权。欧洲和中国难以在今后二十年内赶超美国。在这里，世界还是单极的。