The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
De-reservification, Not De-dollarization
English Summary
The article argues that global financial shifts represent 'de-reservification,' not 'de-dollarization,' asserting that the dollar's dominance is moving away from formal central bank reserves. Instead, the dollar's role is increasingly anchored by quasi-sovereign and private institutional investors (e.g., China's state banks, Japan's GPIF), whose massive foreign asset holdings are often overlooked by standard reserve data. This suggests that the dollar's continued strength is less dependent on its status as a safe-haven reserve and more on its function as a source of profit and risk assets. Policymakers must therefore focus on the portfolio choices of these private and semi-private investors, as they represent the true drivers of global capital flows.
中文摘要
本文論點指出，全球金融轉變體現的是「去儲備化」（de-reservification），而非「去美元化」（de-dollarization）。其核心主張是，美元的主導地位正逐漸脫離正式的央行儲備體系。相反地，美元的支撐力越來越依賴於準主權和私人機構投資者（例如中國的國有銀行、日本的GPIF）的購買力，這些機構持有的大量外國資產往往被標準的儲備數據所忽略。這暗示著，美元的持續強勁，已不再主要取決於其作為避險儲備的地位，而是更多地源於其作為獲利和風險資產來源的功能。因此，政策制定者必須將關注點放在這些私人和半私人投資者的投資組合選擇上，因為他們才是全球資本流動的真正驅動力。
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