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.
A Better “America First”
English Summary
The article argues that U.S. foreign policy must move beyond the polarizing extremes of "America First" by adopting a composite strategy that marries realist self-interest with liberal international cooperation. This shift is necessitated by global multipolarity and the decline of the American social contract, requiring the U.S. to retrench from peripheral conflicts and rely more heavily on diplomacy and economic engagement. Policy implications include strengthening alliances by having partners shoulder greater defense burdens, establishing multilateral regional governance (especially in Asia), and crucially, addressing domestic socioeconomic discontent to anchor a stable, bipartisan statecraft.
中文摘要
本文論述美國外交政策必須超越「美國優先」這類兩極化的極端思維，轉而採納一種綜合戰略，該戰略需將現實主義的自身利益與自由主義的國際合作相結合。這種轉變是全球多極化和美國社會契約衰退所必然要求的，要求美國必須從邊緣衝突中收縮，轉而更倚重外交和經濟參與。政策意涵包括：加強聯盟，要求夥伴承擔更高的防禦負擔；建立多邊區域治理體系（尤其是在亞洲）；以及至關重要的是，解決國內的社會經濟不滿，以鞏固一個穩定且具有兩黨共識的國家治理基礎。
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