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.
Leslie H. Gelb Memorial Event: Common Sense and Strategy in Foreign Policy
English Summary
The core argument presented is that the United States is currently experiencing a state of "superpower suicide," a decline that is largely self-inflicted rather than purely structural. This systemic weakening is evidenced by the erosion of institutional integrity across multiple domains, including education, research, and adherence to democratic norms. The analysis stresses that the fundamental problem is the loss of a unified ideology of the American state, which is being treated by some actors as merely a prestige or profit-making enterprise. For the US to reverse this decline, policy must focus on restoring institutional stability, reaffirming democratic processes, and establishing a shared, unifying vision of the American state.
中文摘要
本文的核心論點指出，美國目前正經歷一種「超級大國的自我毀滅」狀態，其衰退的根源很大程度上是自我造成的，而非純粹的結構性問題。這種系統性的衰弱，體現在多個領域的制度完整性遭到侵蝕，包括教育、研究以及對民主規範的遵循。分析強調，根本問題在於美國國家缺乏統一的意識形態，導致部分行為者將其視為僅僅是追求聲望或營利的商業事業。若想扭轉美國的衰退趨勢，政策制定必須著重於恢復制度穩定性、重申民主程序，並建立一個共享的、統一的美國國家願景。
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