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.
Ambiguous Inclusion: Migration and Race on the Russia-China Border
English Summary
Russia's state-led efforts to boost population and social inclusion through 'compatriots' programs are fundamentally challenged by persistent racial biases. Evidence from the Primorye region shows that despite official criteria emphasizing language or culture, local populations prioritize ethnicity—often linked to skin color—determining who is considered fully included. This racialization of identity is a legacy of the Soviet Union, where ethnic equality was preached but social hierarchies remained. Policymakers must recognize that state-level migration initiatives are insufficient if they fail to address deep-seated, historical racial and ethnic biases within the receiving society.
中文摘要
俄羅斯政府主導的「國同胞」計畫旨在提升人口和社會融合，但其努力受到持續存在的種族偏見的根本挑戰。來自濱海地區的證據顯示，儘管官方標準強調語言或文化，當地民眾卻更重視族裔——這種族裔往往與膚色掛鉤——來決定誰被視為完全融入。這種身份的種族化，是蘇聯遺留的歷史，當時雖然宣揚族裔平等，但社會階級結構卻依然存在。政策制定者必須認識到，如果國家層級的移民倡議無法解決接收社會內根深蒂固的歷史種族和族裔偏見，那麼這些倡議本身就是不夠的。
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