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.
Staging Nuremberg: How the United States and the Soviet Union Fought Over the Portrayal of Nazi Crimes
English Summary
The article argues that the Nuremberg trials were not purely legal proceedings but were highly managed, stage-managed efforts by the US and USSR to achieve competing propaganda victories. The superpowers used the trials to advance their own ideologies—the Soviets promoting communist purity, and the West promoting liberal democratic rule of law—by selectively presenting or suppressing evidence. This suggests that the historical narrative of international justice is inherently political and can be manipulated or weaponized by major powers for geopolitical gain. Policy planners must recognize that international legal processes are often subject to ideological competition and narrative control.
中文摘要
本文論述紐倫堡審判並非純粹的法律程序，而是在美國和蘇聯精心策劃、高度管理的行動，目的是爭取各自的宣傳勝利。兩大超強權利用審判來推動自身的意識形態——蘇聯宣揚共產主義的純粹性，而西方則推廣自由民主的法治原則——其手段包括有選擇性地呈現或壓制證據。這暗示了國際正義的歷史敘事本質上是政治性的，並且容易被主要大國為實現地緣政治利益而操縱或武器化。政策規劃者必須認識到，國際法律程序往往是意識形態競爭和敘事控制的客體。
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