Among those who closely follow American politics, we often hear about “the return of foreign policy.” This supposes that Americans don’t usually think much about global affairs except during occasional, often sudden, crises. It’s a characterization that’s now truer than ever. These days, domestic politics are infused with the kind of life-or-death bipolarity reminiscent of how we once thought about the Cold War or the fight against Nazi Germany. Never mind existential challenges from overseas; the threat to our democracy, we’re told, comes from within. And there’s more talk of civil war than of a potential military challenge from a foreign adversary.

Even when foreign crises do emerge, they’re often shrunk down and wedged into our intramural political squabbles. The new right, for example, paints supporters of Ukraine as dupes for the establishment, and the left’s Squad claims Iran’s female protestors as allies against pro-life Americans.