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 Trump and the NATO Summit Lend Legitimacy to Turkey’s Autocratic President
English Summary
The article argues that high-profile interactions between Donald Trump and Turkish President Erdoğan, particularly at the NATO summit, significantly legitimize Erdoğan's autocratic rule and his global ambitions. This legitimacy is reinforced by the U.S.'s willingness to overlook Turkey’s domestic crackdown on dissent and its geopolitical actions (such as maintaining ties with Russia despite Western pressure). Consequently, European powers face a difficult strategic predicament: they must rely on Turkey for crucial security ties while simultaneously confronting an increasingly authoritarian regime that has eroded democratic institutions. This dynamic forces Western policy into a pragmatic, transactional approach centered on military necessity rather than shared democratic values.
中文摘要
本文論述，唐納德·川普與土耳其總統埃爾多安之間的高調互動，特別是在北約峰會上，極大地鞏固了埃爾多安的獨裁統治及其全球野心。這種合法性進一步受到美國願意對土耳其國內鎮壓異議和其地緣政治行為（例如在西方壓力下仍與俄羅斯維持關係）的放任態度所強化。因此，歐洲列強面臨一個艱難的戰略困境：它們一方面必須依賴土耳其來確保關鍵的安全聯繫，另一方面卻不得不面對一個不斷侵蝕民主制度、日益威權化的政權。這種動態迫使西方政策轉向一種實用主義的交易模式，核心重點是軍事必要性，而非共同的民主價值觀。
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