That we live in an age of complexity and transition is hardly news. Ours is the age of interconnections, ambiguity, and uncertainty; of the diffusion of authority; of various kinds of revolutions: military, technological, social, political, economic, and even philosophical. What springs from these developments is the feeling of a lack of control. Decision-makers either think they have no other option but to act as they do or are paralyzed by the uncertainties and conflicting pressures they face. The usual solution is to try to reassert control, which leads to new problems. Paradoxically, as our tools to make sense and control societies and our environment increase, our ability to do so diminishes.

中文翻译：

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复杂系统和国际治理

我们生活在一个复杂和转型的时代并不是什么新闻。我们的时代是相互联系、模糊不清和不确定性的时代；权力的扩散；各种革命：军事、技术、社会、政治、经济，甚至哲学。从这些发展中产生的是缺乏控制的感觉。决策者要么认为他们别无选择，只能照常行事，要么因面临的不确定性和相互冲突的压力而瘫痪。通常的解决方案是尝试重新声明控制权，这会导致新的问题。矛盾的是，随着我们理解和控制社会和环境的工具增加，我们这样做的能力却在减弱。