Russia, China, Iran or any combination of the three. Any correct response is bound to draw indignation from those who consider the enemy real rather than virtua

Russia, China, Iran or any combination of the three. Any correct response is bound to draw indignation from those who consider the enemy real rather than virtual, but this is to be expected - given that every popular story of manipulative governments (including of course 1984) is told from the perspective of a dissident, we lack the narrative framework to conceptualise what such a system looks like through the eyes of someone broadly on board with it. The warring US tribes certainly made an effort to associate their internal enemy with these (Democrats insinuating Republican subversion by Russians, Republicans insinuating Democrat sympathies with China and Iran). Arguably, this did not really catch and the majority of people are more preoccupied with their internal outgroup, which suggests that the external-enemy strategy is currently falling flat in the US. You could make a better case for it being in place in various European countries.