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 the Iran War Is Shaping a Post-American World
English Summary
The ongoing conflict in Iran is viewed as a global indicator of the receding influence and diminishing strategic capacity of the United States. While the war causes immediate material shocks, such as global energy crises and inflation, its deeper significance is the acceleration of a multipolar shift away from US hegemony. The resulting power vacuum is being filled by alternative global players, including China, Gulf states, and Japan, which are providing critical infrastructure investment and trade to the Global South. Consequently, regional powers are increasingly diversifying their partnerships, making the future of key regions, such as Latin America, less dependent on, and less controllable by, the United States.
中文摘要
伊朗持續的衝突被視為全球指標，反映了美國影響力衰退和戰略能力減弱的趨勢。儘管這場戰爭會引發全球能源危機和通貨膨脹等即時的物質衝擊，但其更深層的意義在於加速了全球從美國霸權體系轉向多極化的轉變。由此產生的權力真空正被包括中國、海灣國家和日本在內的替代性全球參與者所填補，這些國家正向全球南方提供關鍵基礎設施投資和貿易。因此，區域大國正在日益多元化其夥伴關係，使得拉丁美洲等關鍵地區的未來，將不再過度依賴，也無法被美國完全控制。
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