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.
Authoritarian Markets: The Politics of China’s Banking Explosion
English Summary
The article argues that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is not allowing the market to advance independently, but rather is actively designing and controlling its development to achieve specific political objectives. The CCP uses levers of influence, such as controlling licenses and appointments, to manage competition, as demonstrated by the 1990s proliferation of regional banks that funded fiscal reforms but contributed to the current real estate crisis. This suggests that market reform in authoritarian states is fundamentally a political tool, meaning that resulting economic crises are often secondary to the party's overarching political goals.
中文摘要
本文論述中國共產黨（CCP）並非允許市場獨立發展，而是積極設計並控制其發展，以達成特定的政治目標。中共利用各種影響力槓桿，例如控制牌照和任命權，來管理市場競爭。從1990年代區域銀行機構的興盛便可見，這些銀行雖然為財政改革提供了資金，但也助長了當前的房地產危機。這表明，在威權國家進行的市場改革，本質上是一個政治工具；因此，由此產生的經濟危機，往往次於黨的宏觀政治目標。
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