19.强大的小不点儿

Passage Nineteen

Mighty minnows

强大的小不点儿

【1】How adroit small countries can survive and thrive in a messy(disorder) world,It was a perilous(dangerous) moment. At a reception during a visit to Britain by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s, a young Soviet researcher from Cambridge University faced an astute(tricky) question from Margaret Thatcher.

精明的小国如何在纷扰的世界里独善其身，那是一个危险时刻。上世纪80年代米哈伊尔·戈尔巴乔夫访问英国，在招待会上，撒切尔夫人向一位来自剑桥大学的苏联年轻研究人员抛出一个狡猾的问题。

【2】“Young man,” the prime minister asked, “do you feel Armenian or do you feel ‘Soviet’?” How to respond without either betraying his treasured ethnic roots or appearing(showing) publicly disloyal(unfaithful) to the Soviet state, within earshot of the spies in Gorbachev’s entourage?

“年轻人，”首相问道，“你自我感觉是亚美尼亚人还是苏联人呢？”在既不背叛其珍贵的民族血统又不公开表现出对苏联不忠，且身旁还有戈尔巴乔夫随从监视的情况下，该做出何种回答？

【3】“I am of course Armenian,” Armen Sarkissian replied, adding that he was a grateful Soviet citizen who had received an excellent education back home.

“我当然是亚美尼亚人，”阿尔缅·萨尔基相回应道，随后又称自己是一位心怀感恩的苏联公民，在祖国受到了良好教育。

【4】That is the sort of agile(flexible) diplomacy that Mr Sarkissian admires in small states. Born into a giant country, the Soviet Union, Mr Sarkissian went on to be prime minister and more recently president of a small one, Armenia.

这某种程度上便是萨尔基相先生所赞赏的小国灵活外交。出生于大国苏联，萨尔基相担任过亚美尼亚总理，最近更是一跃成为该国总统。

【5】Having achieved remarkable success against the odds, he is intrigued by small states that have done so too, and the lessons they may hold for the rest of the world. His portraits of several of these countries, peppered with personal anecdotes, are compelling(fascinating) case studies.

在逆境下取得如此成就，他对与亚美尼亚类似的小国以及这些国家值得借鉴的经验充满兴趣。他在对这些国家的描述中穿插着个人轶事，成为了引人入胜的研究案例。

【6】They are a varied bunch. From inauspicious(unfortunate) beginnings Singapore became one of the world’s most successful city-states, thanks to the far-sighted leadership of Lee Kuan Yew. Botswana is “a diamond in the rough”, as Mr Sarkissian puts it, “a model of economic prudence(cautiousness) and efficient governance in Africa”.

这些国家不尽相同。开局不顺的新加坡在李光耀总理的远见卓识领导下，一跃成为世界上最成功的城市国家。博茨瓦纳则是“璞玉”，萨尔基相如是形容道，“是非洲国家中审慎经济与高效治理的典范”。

【7】A trio of European countries make it into his collection: Switzerland, which has made a virtue out of neutrality; Ireland, formidably well-connected as well as “compassionate, open and global”; and impressively pragmatic Estonia, which has changed beyond recognition since its Soviet days to become a pioneer of simplified taxation and e-government.

他的收藏还包括三个欧洲国家：因保持中立而游刃有余的瑞士；他的收藏还包括三个欧洲国完全互联互通、热情、开放、全球化的爱尔兰；以及崇尚实用主义的爱沙尼亚，自苏联解体后历经巨变，成为简化税收与数字政府的先行者。

【8】The Middle East has the most intriguing cluster of small-state stars. Qatar has made the most of its gas and of the security that comes from hosting a big American air base, while hedging its bets in foreign policy (it recently played a role in hostage and prisoner swaps between Israel and Hamas, for example).

中东地区成为明星小国的耀眼聚集地。卡塔尔充分利用其石油资源以及主办大型美国空军基地驻扎所带来的安全，其外交政策采取“多方押注”（比如近期卡塔尔就在以色列与哈马斯的人质与战俘问题上斡旋）。

【9】The United Arab Emirates punches above its weight as a logistics hub with the help of streamlined decision-making and clever investments. Mr Sarkissian is impressed by the skilled lobbying and economic ingenuity of Israel, the “startup nation”—though now engulfed(fell) in a horrendous(terrible) war—which, like Armenia, has a traumatic(tragic) history and a global diaspora.

阿联酋以小博大，通过优化决策过程和精明的投资成为地区物流中心。萨尔基相对以色列精湛的游说技术与经济手段大加赞扬。这个“新兴国家”尽管现在身陷恐怖战火中，但就像亚美尼亚一样，有着悲惨的历史以及全球范围内的侨民流散。

【10】Yet Armenia itself has not managed to match Israel’s economic prowess, as Mr Sarkissian shows. It has failed to make the most of its diaspora.

然而，正如萨尔基相所展现的那样，亚美尼亚自身的经济手腕无法与以色列匹敌。亚美尼亚未能充分发挥其侨民的优势。

【11】Internal arguments(disputes) and short-termism mean that it has ended up with a “no-model model”. Merely being a small state is no guarantee(assurance) of success.

内部纷争以及政策短视意味着该国最终成为一个“无模范的模范”。仅凭身为小国不能保证一定会成功。

【12】So what are the lessons from the adept(skillful) ones? Their paramount(supreme) preoccupation(consideration) is survival. They recognise their vulnerabilities and invest in the future.

那么，从这些内行的国家中能学到什么？小国首先要考虑的是生存。它们认清自己的弱点，并投资于未来。

【13】Mr Sarkissian suggests that the essential(significant) ingredients(features) include a strong sense of identity, a national mission, strategic purpose and effective leadership. With these, he argues, small states “can navigate the complex challenges of the 21st century in smarter ways than the traditional great powers”.

萨尔基相表示，这些国家的重要特征包括强烈的身份感、国家使命、战略目的以及行之有效的领导力。他认为，有了这些，小国“能够以比传统强国更精明的方式来驾驭21世纪复杂的挑战”。

【14】Maybe so, but can “a club” of such states really help spread ideas and promote partnerships and peace, let alone save the world, as Mr Sarkissian grandly claims? It is perhaps not surprising that his efforts to promote the idea have encountered(met) resistance(opposition)—and not just because of the entrenched interests of larger states and established groupings.

或许确实如此，但这些小国“俱乐部”能否真正帮助传播理念并推动合作与和平，甚至如他的宏大论述中一般拯救世界？萨尔基相推行的理念遇到抵制或许并不意外，而且这不仅是因为较大国家根深蒂固的利益以及已成型的国际圈子。

【15】With its diverse members, such a club risks being contentious(debatable): the “symphony of elements” that characterises the dynamic minnows could easily become cacophonous. Besides, a club suggests an aspiration(desire) to bigness. Yet as Mr Sarkissian persuasively(convincingly) describes, the beauty is being small.

这一俱乐部成员多样，容易引发争论。活力小国典型的“元素交响曲”很容易成为刺耳噪音。此外，这一俱乐部也流露出变大变强的渴望。但正如萨尔基相总统令人信服地描述道：小即是美。