The good guys and the bad guys. Friends and enemies. Black and white. Since at least World War II, American foreign policy has been viewed through an all-or-nothing lens in which actors are routinely considered either all good or all bad. It’s not hard to understand why — it’s a lot easier to categorize states or groups as a monolith. But doing so unnecessarily harms our interests.

It’s time we begin dealing with the world as it is, in all its messy grayness. Doing so will make our nation more secure and prosperous. Though the incoming Biden administration seems intent on restoring a presumed superior version of American leadership from the past, what is most needed is a reformation of how we deal with the rest of the world.