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.
Fate in My Hands: The Death Penalty in the Soviet Union
English Summary
Historian Skorobogatov analyzes the shift in the use of the death penalty in the Soviet Union (mid-1950s–1991), arguing that the state ceased using capital punishment as a primary political weapon. Key evidence drawn from death row appeals shows a dramatic change in rhetoric: initially, inmates appealed to the state as a moral arbiter by portraying themselves as model citizens. By the late Soviet period, this shifted to adopting 'legal talk,' focusing on due process violations and abuse. This linguistic shift reflects a broader decline in faith in the communist state and a growing emphasis on individual rights and alternative spiritual pursuits.
中文摘要
歷史學家斯科羅博加托夫（Skorobogatov）分析了蘇聯時期（1950年代中期至1991年）死刑使用方式的轉變，論點指出國家已停止將死刑作為主要的政治武器。從死囚申訴案的關鍵證據可見，其修辭風格發生了戲劇性變化：初期，罪犯訴諸國家作為道德仲裁者，將自身描繪為模範公民。到了蘇聯後期，這種訴求轉變為採用「法律語言」，重點關注程序瑕疵和權利濫用。這種語言上的轉變，反映了對共產主義國家信念的整體衰退，以及對個人權利和替代性精神追求日益增長的重視。
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