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.
Lawrence Freedman: ‘Nothing I’ve seen in 50 years compares with Trump’s chaos’
English Summary
Freedman argues that the current state of American foreign policy under Trump represents a level of systemic chaos unprecedented in his 50-year career, surpassing past periods of instability. This disorder is attributed to an impulsive, ill-informed executive coupled with a hollowed-out federal apparatus, weakening key diplomatic institutions like the State Department and NSC. The primary implication for global strategy is that this institutional decay will have long-lasting effects on international relationships and capabilities (e.g., health and development aid). Policymakers must therefore navigate a period of profound uncertainty until US governmental structures can stabilize.
中文摘要
弗里德曼（Freedman）論述指出，在川普政府時期美國的外交政策現狀，代表著其五十年職業生涯中前所未有的系統性混亂程度，甚至超越了過去的任何不穩定期。這種失序歸因於一位衝動且缺乏資訊的行政首長，結合一個空心化的聯邦體系，導致國家級外交機構（如國務院和國家安全委員會）遭到削弱。對於全球戰略而言，主要啟示是這種制度衰敗將對國際關係和能力（例如健康與發展援助）產生持久影響。因此，政策制定者必須在美國政府結構穩定之前，應對一個深層次的不確定期。
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