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.
Democracies Need Creative Destruction
English Summary
Democracies face a crisis of 'state capacity' because their legacy institutions, built during the stable post-WWII era, are too rigid to handle modern complexity and rapid technological change. This bureaucratic inertia—evidenced by delays in public health responses or unreliable infrastructure—erodes public trust and undermines national sovereignty. To recover, governments must embrace 'creative destruction,' which requires either establishing entirely new, agile institutions (like DARPA) or radically overhauling existing ones to match the pace of digital transformation and AI. Failure to reform institutional operating models will prevent democracies from delivering on their promises, threatening systemic stability.
中文摘要
民主國家正面臨「國家能力」危機，因為其在穩定戰後時期建立的既有制度過於僵化，難以應對現代社會的複雜性和快速技術變革。這種官僚慣性——可從公共衛生回應延遲或基礎設施不可靠等現象中體現——正在侵蝕公眾信任並削弱國家主權。為實現復原，政府必須擁抱「創造性破壞」，這要求他們要麼建立全新的、敏捷的機構（如DARPA），要麼徹底改革現有制度，使其能跟上數位轉型和人工智慧的步伐。若未能修訂制度運作模式，民主國家將無法兌現其承諾，從而威脅到體系穩定性。
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