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.
New CFR Book by Charles A. Kupchan Provides a Guide to Building Order in a Multipolar World
English Summary
Kupchan argues that the established international order is unraveling due to power diffusion and socio-economic disruption, leading to global disarray in a multipolar world. To restore stability, he proposes a dual governance model: allowing for regional devolution while simultaneously establishing centralized oversight. The key policy mechanism is the creation of 'concerts'—great power steering groups—modeled on the Concert of Europe to foster cooperation across ideological divides. Ultimately, Kupchan stresses that successful international order-building requires democracies to first address domestic issues and forge a new social contract to prove their viability against autocracies.
中文摘要
庫普昌（Kupchan）認為，由於權力擴散和社會經濟動盪，現有的國際秩序正在瓦解，導致一個多極世界陷入全球混亂。為恢復穩定，他提出了一種「雙重治理模式」：既允許區域層面的權力下放（devolution），同時建立中央化的監督機制。其核心政策機制是建立「協商體」（concerts）——這類以大國為主的指導性集團，其模式可參考歐洲協商體（Concert of Europe），旨在促進跨越意識形態分歧的合作。最終，庫普昌強調，成功的國際秩序建設，要求民主國家必須先解決國內問題，建立新的社會契約，以證明其在面對威權主義體制時的生存能力。
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