Anyone who paid attention to the 2024 Republican presidential primaries or recent battles on Capitol Hill over aid to Ukraine and Israel knows that the Republican Party is having a difficult time finding a foreign policy consensus. The coalition between libertarian and national populist Republicans advocates for a foreign policy that resembles the “Old Right” isolationism of Pat Buchanan, while the Reaganite branch of the GOP continues to advocate for policies of peace through strength.

Earlier this month, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft and The American Conservative held a conference on foreign policy with Vivek Ramaswamy, along with Sens. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Rand Paul (R-KY) to make the case for the isolationist Right. In contrast, the Hudson Institute announced that former presidential candidate Nikki Haley and former congressman Mike Gallagher had joined the think tank, with both giving talks about a more active role for the United States in the world. Comparing these events reveals how both factions approach international affairs.