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.
Iran and the New Rules of Global Power
English Summary
The article argues that the post-Cold War era of U.S. unipolarity, established by the perceived invincibility demonstrated during the Gulf War, has ended. This decline is driven by globalization and technological diffusion, which have democratized advanced military capabilities, allowing regional actors to challenge major powers. Consequently, policymakers must prepare for a more volatile international order marked by frequent crises, heightened costs for securing global trade chokepoints, and reduced predictability from American power. The new rules dictate that great powers can no longer effortlessly impose their will through force.
中文摘要
本文論述，美國在冷戰後建立的單極時代（Unipolarity），其基礎是源於海灣戰爭期間所展現的所謂無敵性，但此局面已然終結。這一衰退的驅動力來自全球化和技術擴散，這些趨勢使先進軍事能力得以民主化，使得區域行為體能夠挑戰主要大國的權威。因此，政策制定者必須為一個更具不穩定性的國際秩序做好準備，這將是一個常態性危機、確保全球貿易要衝成本提高，以及美國力量預測性下降的時代。新的規則規定了：大國已無法再輕易地以武力來強加其意志。
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