Today, the world is very different from what some might have imagined at the end of the last century, a decade after the Berlin Wall came down. Historically speaking, 15 years can seem long or short, depending on the intensity of change.
当今世界与上个世纪末、柏林墙倒塌十周年时人们所想象的世界大不相同。从历史上看，15年既可以很长，也可以很短，取决于变化的剧烈程度。过去十五年，列强竞争愈演愈烈，中东动荡卷土重来——包括阿拉伯之春、残暴的伊斯兰国的崛起、逊尼派-什叶派代理战争以及不可名状的人道灾难——变化不可不谓剧烈。