Question

请问谁帮我分析一下这个句子的句法~

I know that the response of the powerful to this disorder（-alternating as it does between a dull complacency and, when the
disorder spills out of its proscribed confines, a steady, unthinking application of force, of longer prison sentences
and more sophisticated military hardware-）is inadequate to the task.

主要是括号的部分怎么理解，哪个是主语谓语什么的~谢啦

Answer 1

整个句子一起分析：
主句部分：I know that the response of the powerful to this disorder is inadequate to the task.
精华在于：The response is inadequate.

中间有一个巨大的插入语，用来形容repose of the powerful to this disorder.那么，把插入语剥离出来，套入主谓宾格式，我们有：
The reponse alternates as it does between a dull complacency and, when the
disorder spills out of its proscribed confines, a steady, unthinking application of force, of longer prison sentences and more sophisticated military hardware.
这个句子单独分析。
主语是Repose，谓语是alternates（摇摆不定），as it does是一个小的状语从句（不用解释了吧），between是搭配谓语alternate的介词。我们知道between肯定会有两个介词宾语，用and连接起来。这是亘古不变的真理。首先我们看到第一个宾语a dull complacency；接下来是连词and。我们知道两个并列结构连接的时候使用and并不用加逗号，而实际上and后面是有一个插入语when the disorder spills out of its proscribed confines。Confines后面又是一个逗号。马上看到第二个介词宾语a steady, unthinking application of force, of longer prison sentences and more sophisticated military hardware.这个宾语的本质是application of force，那么是施加什么样的武力呢？答案是longer prison sentences and more sophisticated military hardware.

OK，宏观上看，巨大插入语结束，reponse形容完毕，我们就顺着句子的谓语走下去了（剩下不用讲了）