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.
How Alliances Survive
English Summary
Despite severe political shocks and allied pessimism regarding U.S. commitment, the article argues that the global alliance system is not collapsing but will survive and evolve. This resilience is anchored by intensifying geopolitical threats from China and Russia, coupled with powerful material forces—economic and technological interdependence—that pull allies together regardless of Washington's actions. Policymakers should view current anxieties not as signs of failure, but as opportunities to reform; alliances must transition from dependent relationships into co-created power structures capable of meeting future global challenges. This shift requires pooling allied capacity to create a system greater than the sum of its parts.
中文摘要
儘管面臨嚴重的政治衝擊，以及盟友對美國承諾的悲觀情緒，本文認為全球聯盟體系並未崩潰，而是將得以存續和演化。這種韌性根植於來自中國和俄羅斯日益加劇的地緣政治威脅，以及強大的物質力量——經濟與技術上的相互依賴——無論華盛頓採取何種行動，都將拉結盟友們在一起。政策制定者應將當前的焦慮視為改革的機遇而非失敗的徵兆；聯盟必須從依賴關係轉型為共創權力結構，以應對未來的全球挑戰。這種轉變要求整合盟友的能力，建立一個超越各個部分總和的系統。
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