對榮譽和聲望的追求是人類行為的基本動力之一和國際權力斗爭不可分割的一部分。20世紀后半期,作為對"榮譽"的替代,"信譽"成為國家重要的無形資產和冷戰斗爭的武器。自杜魯門主義把美國的國際角色確定為"自由世界"領袖從而承擔起保衛盟友安全的責任之后,如何履行這一責任和兌現承諾以維護美國的國家信譽就成為美國歷屆政府憂心和焦慮之事。這一焦慮與對蘇聯擴張和共產主義傳播的恐懼相互加強,促使美國決心對任何地方出現的所謂共產主義"擴張"進行遏制,并實施了對朝鮮和越南的大規模軍事干預。其結果是美國的"過度擴張"和全球戰略地位的下降,美國的信譽不僅沒有得到維護,反而受到損害。美國領導人信譽焦慮的最深刻根源在于二戰后美國對其國家身份和世界角色的認知——美國是"世界領袖",而冷戰的性質與核時代的來臨則加劇了這一焦慮。只要美國仍然以"世界領袖"自居,美國對外政策就難以擺脫信譽因素的影響。

The pursuit of honor and reputation is one of the basic motives of human behavior and an integral part of the international power struggle.In the second half of the 20 th century,reputation,as a substitute for"honor,"was an important form of intangible capital and a Cold War weapon.Since the Truman Doctrine determined that America’s international role was that of the leader of"the free world,"accompanied by the responsibility of protecting US allies,the question of how the US was to carry out its responsibilities and keep its promises,thereby preserving its reputation,has been one of the main concerns of successive US governments.This concern,reinforced by the fear of Soviet expansion and the spread of Communism,triggered the US decision to contain the"spread of Communism"everywhere,leading to its large-scale military intervention in Korea and Vietnam.The result was that America "over-extended"itself and its global strategic position weakened,thus damaging rather than maintaining America’s reputation.The deepest source of American leaders’ anxiety over their country’s reputation lay in America’s postwar understanding of its national identity and world role—America as"world leader"—and the nature of the Cold War and the coming of the nuclear age aggravated this anxiety.As long as the US sees itself as"world leader,"so long will US foreign policy find it hard to throw off the influence of the reputationfactor.