Both authors based their arguments on an assessment of the underlying context – that is, the structure – of world power. America was overstretched because its global liabilities were increasingly out of balance with its national assets, and it was bound to lead because the world as we know it is arranged favorably for it to do so.
两位作者都是基于对世界权力分配的深层次背景——确切地说，就是结构——的分析来进行论述。美国之所以“过度延伸”是因为它的全球负债与其国家资产之间已经逐渐失衡，而负有“领导义务”则是因为我们所熟知的这个世界就是围绕着这一点而设计的。