The 2024 Republican presidential primary has largely been framed as a referendum on former President Donald Trump. He's expected to face at least half a dozen serious rivals, with one possible contender, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, sometimes—but not always—outpolling him in head-to-head matchups.
But Trump's fate isn't the only big question this primary could settle for Republicans. Arguably more important is the future of the party's foreign policy. No consensus has emerged since Trump's surprise 2016 victory, the drawdown of America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the turn toward great power conflict, which was accelerated in 2022 by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the pattern of reciprocal provocations around Taiwan by Beijing and Washington.
