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.
The Stakes of Trump vs. Xi
English Summary
The article argues that the potential intersection of a Trump administration's unpredictable, transactional foreign policy and Xi Jinping's centralized power structure represents a critical geopolitical inflection point. Key reasoning suggests that this dynamic moves the US-China rivalry beyond traditional economic competition into a volatile, high-stakes confrontation across multiple domains. Policymakers must therefore adopt highly flexible strategies, preparing for rapid shifts in alliances and trade that necessitate hedging against both aggressive decoupling and sudden periods of cooperation.
中文摘要
本文論述，川普政府不可預測且交易性的外交政策與習近平高度集權的權力結構潛在交集，構成了一個關鍵的地緣政治轉捩點。核心論點指出，這種動態將美中競爭從傳統的經濟競爭，推向一個跨多領域、高風險且極不穩定的對抗局面。因此，政策制定者必須採取高度彈性的策略，為準備應對聯盟和貿易的快速轉變，預先進行對沖，以應對激進的「去耦合」與突發的合作期這兩種極端情景。
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