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.
Why Ancient Chinese Political Thought Matters: Four Dialogues on China’s Past, Present, and Future
English Summary
The article posits that ancient Chinese political philosophies remain highly relevant, serving as foundational frameworks for contemporary policy debates in China. Through imagined dialogues, it illustrates how modern challenges—such as combating corruption or prioritizing resource allocation—are framed by enduring philosophical tensions (e.g., Legalist strict enforcement versus Confucian moral governance). For policymakers, this suggests that understanding China’s strategic decisions requires looking beyond stated policies to analyze the deep-seated ideological currents and classical thought patterns guiding its leadership.
中文摘要
本文提出，中國古代政治哲學至今仍極具相關性，為當代中國的政策辯論提供了基礎框架。文章透過想像對話的方式闡述，現代挑戰——例如反腐敗或資源分配優先順序等議題——是如何受到持久的哲學張力所塑造（例如法家嚴刑峻法與儒家道德治理之間的權衡）。對於政策制定者而言，這暗示了理解中國的戰略決策，不能僅限於表面政策，更必須深入分析指導其領導層的深層意識形態思潮和古典思想模式。
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