The old Cold War saying was that “Europe was from Venus, and America is from Mars.” Europe promoted liberal democracy through trade, expanding the EU, promoting human rights, and making rules; America, on the other hand, was more likely to use force to accomplish its objectives. Macron has talked at great length about European “sovereignty.” Do we have fuel here for a kind of clash of civilizations?
No. America has become less enamored of using force after Iraq, and the two protagonists have responded in similar fashion to Ukraine. In addition, there are “red” right-wing populist states in Europe as well as in America. Not only do the two parties agree on most of the essentials; they have the same kinds of internal disputes about identity politics. Any distance between the two is consequently based on the logic of interests and foreign policy realism, not culture.