What if Gen Z is actually moderate on foreign policy?
War is costly, and young adults know they’ll be left with the toll.
“We are in our final gasping breaths of a dying empire.”
This is what a 25-year-old in Massachusetts said in The Up and Up’s recent Reality Check about how the Trump administration’s recent foreign involvement plays into their broader view of where the country is headed.
He’s not alone.
On the surface, young people aren’t feeling so confident about the direction of the country right now. And there’s no shortage of reasons why. For them, everything feels linked.
The cost of living. The Epstein files. Foreign conflict. The threat of WWIII.
From their point of view, it feels like all the decisions being made by people in power (who are out of touch with the lives of young people) have very *real* consequences every single day on the lives of young people.
I wrote about this for Vox last month. But it’s even more relevant now.
Historically, Americans don’t vote on foreign policy, and I’m not saying Gen Z is too different when it comes to their prioritization of global affairs > domestic issues. Like everyone else, young people rank the economy and cost of living above all else, but war, or the possibility of it, threatens their personal emotional and financial stability, and therefore impacts their lives every single day.
Just last week, I wrote about the State of Our Union, according to our Gen Z community.
Since then, I’ve heard from even more young people about how they feel about the state of things in the U.S. right now.
And I didn’t know this was really possible (although it shouldn’t be surprising at this point), but it’s gotten… worse.
Here are some of the latest replies to that question specifically.
How do you feel about the state of things in the U.S. right now? Be specific.
“Bad! It’s bad! It’s really really bad.”
“A bit dismayed, but also feeling that (in the economy especially) everything is topsy-turvy and based on too much speculation.”
“Abysmal.”
“I honestly feel extremely uneasy. I currently am a student at UT Austin and live just a few minutes from the mass shooting that just occurred. Knowing classmates, community members, and just anyone was innocently killed so close to me makes me sick. I hate what our world has come to and constantly am asking myself why there is so much violence everywhere.”
Like last week, it’s not all negative — some are appreciative of this administration.
“Good. Happy with the presidential administration but less enthusiastic with congress,” said a 23-year-old from Wisconsin.
“I feel like the state of the US economically is better than what’s in the news, politically always polarizing, and as a nation is strong, but we need to ban together,” said a 25-year-old from Texas.
But the majority of Gen Zers I heard from shared a number of nuanced concerns, especially when it comes to what comes next after the U.S. strikes in Iran.
How do you feel about the U.S. strikes on Iran?
“I think Iran had a bad government, but I am also worried that we’re just bombing places now,” said a 24-year-old from Nevada.
“I am cautiously optimistic and believe that Iran is a threat that should be dealt with. I am much more skeptical though if there is a clear ‘day after’ plan, and I am disheartened that the war was not truly sold to the American people or to Congress,” said a 20-year-old from New York.
“I think we’re getting involved in something we shouldn’t be, so I am not on board at all with these decisions,” said a 20-year-old from Texas.
“Necessary from what they tell us, the U.S. will get what needs to be done, done. However, I might go back to college if there’s a World War III,” said a 25-year-old from Texas.
“It’s unexpected and unnecessary. While intelligence is important, striking a foreign nation while we are in active negotiations is bad faith,” said a 25-year-old from Massachusetts.
“Yes! The regime is over! Iran called out for help for a while and we finally answered,” said an 18-year-old from Arizona.
And yet, despite some appreciation for the United States’ recent actions in Iran and belief that the country should set an international standard for foreign policy, there is little faith in the country’s current posture — and a growing appreciation for isolationism given the fact that it feels like we have enough problems of our own here at home.
What role should the United States play in foreign policy around the world?
“Role model,” said the 24-year-old from Nevada.
“No nation building and only intervene anywhere if it directly positively impacts Americans,” said the 23-year-old from Wisconsin.
“The United States should exert military supremacy overseas to deal with foreign adversaries and threats that endanger our security at home. Moreover, we should aid our allies and oppose Iran, China, Russia, and North Korea. However, while we should take an active role in global affairs, we ought to not become bogged down by ‘forever wars’ and have mission scope creep,” said the 20-year-old from New York.
“I believe we should help our allies, but fully striking and becoming violent in fights that we are not a part of, benefit no one,” said the 20-year-old from Texas.
“Not being an imperialist hegemon,” said a 30-year-old from New York.
“It’s scary, but definitely the enforcer, opposed to the enforced on,” said the 25-year-old from Texas.
“I think they should play less of a role than they do now but they are also doing good at setting an example and showing the rest of the world we’re not gonna take any crap,” said an 18-year-old from Ohio.
“It should do what it needs to to keep its people safe. Attacking active threats is one thing. Striking schools is another. No country should feel that it has the authority to invade nations at any time,” said the 25-year-old from Massachusetts.
“Probably more isolationist,” said the 18-year-old from Arizona.
The Up and Up’s take: Gen Z isn’t necessarily dovish or hawkish, so much as they are actually, pretty rational. Their posture is “prove it.” Prove the threat, prove the plan, prove it won’t spiral, prove how it will help them and the country.
For our generation, two things can be true at once. Iran’s regime can be dangerous and the US’s actions can be reckless without transparency or a clearly thought out strategy. If leaders can’t explain the stakes and the plan, young people know the costs, financial, emotional, personal, and human will land on them.
War signals instability, which signals higher costs — and this feels like yet another decision made by people insulated from the consequences.
That’s why Gen Z’s foreign policy reads moderate, not because they don’t care about the world, but because they’re demanding limits, receipts, and a plan before they’re asked to bankroll the fallout.