The White House (via OMB) strongly protests Congressional efforts within the FY 2027 NDAA to prohibit the purchase of warships from foreign shipyards. The Administration argues that these restrictions undermine national security by limiting flexibility and hindering its strategy of leveraging allied yards, such as in the 'Finland model,' to drive investment into U.S. shipbuilding capacity. This signals a significant policy shift toward integrating international partners into advanced naval construction, suggesting the Pentagon is prepared to bypass traditional domestic build requirements for future combat vessels.
Between Two Orders
English Summary
The global system is in a 'Gramscian interregnum,' driven by two tectonic shifts: a rapid redistribution of global power from the West to the East and South, and the socioeconomic dislocation caused by the digital age and automation. This confluence of factors is fueling great power competition, unraveling globalized markets, and spiking domestic inequality in developed democracies. For the U.S. to stabilize, its grand strategy must adopt a dual focus: promoting pluralistic cooperation to anchor the transition to a multipolar world, and fundamentally redesigning its social contract to prepare citizens for the digital economy and rebuild the political center.
中文摘要
全球體系正處於一個「格拉姆齊式的間期」(Gramscian interregnum),其驅動動力來自兩場結構性巨變:一是全球權力從西方向東方和南方快速重新分配;二是數位時代與自動化所導致的社會經濟失序。這兩股力量的匯合,正在加劇大國競爭、瓦解全球化市場,並推高已開發民主國家內部的不平等。對於美國而言,若要實現穩定,其宏觀戰略必須採取雙重重點:一方面,推動多元合作以錨定邁向多極世界的轉型;另一方面,根本性地重塑其社會契約,以使公民為數位經濟做好準備,並重建政治中心。
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