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.
The Future of Ukraine’s Drone Democracy
English Summary
Ukraine's military transformation is pivoting toward a decentralized, technology-driven 'drone democracy,' fundamentally altering its defense structure and relationship with its leadership. This shift is evidenced by Ukraine's rapid transition to domestic drone production and the adoption of integrated digital architectures that link civil society, tech specialists, and military units. The core finding is that this new model allows Ukraine to achieve battlefield parity with Russia using less foreign reliance but generates political friction with traditional defense contractors and established military hierarchies. Policy-wise, external partners must pivot their support from solely supplying conventional hardware toward bolstering Ukraine's digital infrastructure, civil coordination mechanisms, and decentralized industrial capacity.
中文摘要
烏克蘭的軍事轉型正朝向一個去中心化、技術驅動的「無人機民主」模式發展，這從根本上改變了其國防結構及其與領導層的關係。這一趨勢體現在烏克蘭快速過渡至國內無人機生產，並採用整合數位架構來連結公民社會、科技專家和軍事單位。核心發現指出，這種新模式使烏克蘭能夠在較少依賴外部援助的情況下，實現與俄羅斯戰場上的均勢；但同時也與傳統國防承包商和既有的軍事階級產生了政治摩擦。從政策層面來看，外部夥伴必須將其支持重點從單純提供傳統硬體設備，轉向強化烏克蘭的數位基礎設施、公民協調機制以及去中心化的產業能力。
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