As Republicans settle into a slim and fractured majority in the House, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), now including nearly half of all House Democrats, is reportedly preparing a policy agenda for the years ahead. Among the priorities of the CPC is the development of a new progressive foreign policy vision, which has often been regarded as a troublesome weakness for the left.
In particular, the war in Ukraine has exposed deep antinomies within the existing progressive approach to foreign policy. Despite usually being regarded as anti-interventionists, progressives have been hesitant to criticize the Biden administration’s approach toward arming Ukraine while foregoing direct negotiations with Russia. In October, a now-infamous letter from CPC members calling for diplomacy with Russia was quickly retracted and ungraciously blamed on staffers. Furthermore, a number of prominent commentators have urged progressives to embrace the Ukraine war as a necessary defense of democratic values.
Progressives have been hesitant to challenge the Biden administration for several reasons. The first is an internalized fear of handicapping a Democratic administration by pressuring it from the left, even when it would be both popular and prudent to do so. The second is the effect which “Russiagate” had in tying political opposition to Donald Trump to an instinctual enmity towards Russia in the minds of many liberals, despite the scandal proving to be essentially baseless. A third reason is the pressure Democrats feel to not be perceived as wimps, a reputation which—for better or often worse—has little historical justification when reviewing the wars of the past century.
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