・120.0 There are two big power …
次の文章に関して、空所補充問題と読解問題の二つがあります。まず、[1]から[20]の空所を埋めるのに、文脈的に最も適切な語を1から3の中から選びなさい。次に、内容に関する[21]から[30]の設問には、1ｋぁら4の選択肢が付されています。そのうち、文章の内容からみて最も適切なものを選びなさい。
1 There are two big power shifts going on in the 21st century. One is among countries, from West to East, and the other is from governments to nongovernmental actors, regardless of whether it is East or West.
2 I call the first of these shifts “power transition” and the second, “power diffusion.” The issue of power transition is sometimes called the rise of Asia, but it should more properly be called the recovery of Asia. If one looked at the world in 1750, one would see that Asia had more than half of the world’s population, and represented more than half of the world’s products. By 1900, Asia still had more than half of the world’s population, [1] (1. but 2. so 3. for) it had declined to only 20 percent of the world’s products. What we have been seeing, and what we will see in the 21st century, is the recovery of Asia to its normal proportions, with more than half of the world’s population and more than half of the world’s products. This started, of course, with Japan after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, and it [2] (1. coincided 2. worked 3. continued) with smaller countries like Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, and so forth. Now the trend has spread to China, but it is also going to include India. India now has growth rates of 8 to 9 percent a year. During the course of the century, we should [3] (1. see 2. understand 3. recognize)Asia as a whole recovering to about what one would think would be normal proportions. And that is power transition.
3 Let me say a word about what I mean by power diffusion. That is best understood in terms of the way technologies, and particularly information technologies, are [4] (1. increasing 2. sustaining 3. affecting) the costs of participating in international affairs. The price of computing power declined a thousand-fold from 1970 to 2000. That is an extraordinary number, so big that it is hard to know what it means. The best way to think of this would be that if the price of an automobile had declined as rapidly as the price of computing power, you should be able to buy an automobile today, for, let’s say, 10,000 yen. It is [5] (1. just 2. hardly 3. nonetheless) an extraordinary change. When the price of something declines that much, it removes the barriers to entry. Now others can do what previously was [6] (1. prepared 2. reserved 3. preserved) for governments or big corporations. If you wanted to communicate instantaneously from Tokyo to New York to London to Johannesburg in 1970, you could do that. Technologically you could do it, but it was very, very expensive. [7] (1. Still 2. Now 3. However), anybody can do it and it is virtually free. If you have Skype, it is free.
4 So that means that things that were previously restricted to very large organizations like governments or corporations are now [8] (1. meaningful 2. useless 3. available) to anyone. And this has a significant impact on world politics. It does not mean that governments are being replaced or that the nation-state is obsolete. What it [9] (1. does 2. does not 3. could not) mean is that the stage on which governments act is now crowded with many more, smaller actors. Some of those smaller actors are good ―― let’s take Oxfam International, an NPO which serves to relieve poverty ―― and some of them are bad ―― let’s take Al Qaeda, which is obviously trying to kill people. But the main point is that it is a new type of international politics and we have [10] (1. already 2. often 3. not yet) come to terms with how to think about this. So, for example, we need to realize that in an age in which information technology is so powerful and important, it may often be the case that it is not only whose army wins, but whose story wins. The ability to tell an effective story is [11] (1. persuasive 2. crucial 3. risky).
5 If you think of the problem of terrorism, terrorists have very little military power, but they have a lot of “soft power” ―― the ability to attract and persuade people. [12] (1. So 2. Nonetheless 3. However), Bin Laden did not point a gun at the head of the people who flew into the World Trade Center. He did not pay them. He attracted them by his narrative of “Islam under threat” and the need to purify Islam. That is interesting because it means that as we then try to [13] (1. come up 2. get away 3. cope) with this, we may make the mistake of thinking that we can solve this by military or economic power alone. If power means the ability to get the outcomes you want, you could do this through coercion, threats, so-called “sticks.” You could do it with payments you might call [14] (1. “lemons.” 2. “whips.” 3. “carrots.”) Or you could do it with attraction and persuasion. And in an information age, the role of soft power is increasing in its importance. Now that means that what we need is a new way of thinking about power. The famous British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who wrote a book about the struggle for mastery of Europe in the 19th century, defined a great power as a country that was able to prevail in war. But we have to [15] (1. put up with 2. go beyond 3. cling to) that limited way of thinking about what power means in the 21st century, and see it as much more three-dimensional, as including not only military power but also economic power and also soft power.
6 It is very important to have accurate perceptions about the transition of power. And the reason is that when people are too worried about power, they may overreact or follow strategies that are [16] (1. relevant 2. meaningful 3. dangerous). When you look back in history, there is the famous case of the Peloponnesian War, in which the Greek city-state system tore itself apart. Thucydides, the ancient Greek historian, said the reason for this war was the rise in the power of Athens and the fear it created in Sparta. [17] (1. Contrarily 2. Similarly 3. Paradoxically), if you look at World War I, which destroyed the centrality of the European state system in the world, it is often said it was caused by the rise in power of Germany and the fear that it created in Britain.
7 It is equally important not to be too fearful of the diffusion of power. What we are seeing is that both China and the United States, and of course Japan and Europe and others, will be facing a new set of transnational challenges, including climate change, transnational terrorism, cyber insecurity, and pandemics. All these issues, which are going to be increasing in the future, are going to require cooperation. They cannot be solved by any one country alone. Many of these new transnational issues that we face are areas where we have to get away from just thinking about power over others and think about power [18] (1. with 2. without 3. under) others.
8 The American president Franklin Roosevelt at the time of the Great Depression said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Perhaps as we turn to the 21st century, we should say one of the most worrisome things is fear itself. If we can keep a balanced [19] (1. assembly 2. assortment 3. assessment) of the overall distribution of power, and figure out ways to deal with these common challenges that we face ―― we, meaning the United States, Japan, China, Europe and others ―― we can indeed have a [20] (1. win-win 2. win-lose 3. lose-lose) situation.
Based on Joseph Nye (2011). The IHJ Bulletin, 31(1). 1-7.
[21] The author of the article assumes that
1. power transition has never happened in international politics.
2. power diffusion has never happened in international politics.
3. power transition is now centered in Asia.
4. power diffusion is now centered in Asia.
[22] The phrase “normal proportions” in the 2nd paragraph means more or less the same share of power
1. as that of other countries.
2. as that of the United States and Europe.
3. as was held in the 18th century.
4. as was held in the past century.
[23] The author of the article refers to information technologies in the 3rd paragraph in order to
1. demonstrate how their development has been influenced by power diffusion.
2. illustrate how their development has facilitated power diffusion.
3. criticize the close ties with governments or big corporations.
4. celebrate the changes of everyday life brought by their development.
[24] In the 4th paragraph, the phrase “a new type of international politics” is used in the sense that
1. governments or big corporations play a bigger role in world politics.
2. smaller actors play a bigger role in world politics.
3. information technology has become more important than governments.
4. information technology has become more accessible to everyone.
[25] The author of the article defines “soft power” as the ability to
1. win others’ hearts and minds.
2. threaten others to make them act in a certain way.
3. provide funds to change others’ minds.
4. effectively combine military and economic power.
[26] According to the 6th paragraph, the author seems to believe that
1. Thucydides wrongly predicted the transition of power in ancient Greece.
2. Thucydides correctly predicted the transition of power in ancient Greece.
3. people in Athens reacted too strongly.
4. people in Sparta reacted too strongly.
[27] According to the article, the author suspects that
1. climate change might be worsened by power diffusion.
2. transnational terrorism will not be feared in the future.
3. cyber insecurity might get worse in the future.
4. pandemics will be worsened by power transition.
[28] It can be inferred from the article that the author is
1. equally concerned with power transition and power diffusion.
2. more concerned with power transition than power diffusion.
3. more concerned with power diffusion than power transition.
4. fearful of both power transition and power diffusion.
[29] Which of the following best reflects the argument of the article?
1. More military power is needed in order to speed up power transition.
2. More soft power is needed in order to slow down power diffusion.
3. Politicians are well-aware of the possible dangers that fear creates in world politics.
4. Fear will make both power transition and power diffusion more difficult.
[30] Which of the following would make the best title of this article?
1. The Failings of Power
2. The Future of Power
3. The Fixation of Power
4. The Function of Power
