The U.S. Role in the World: Can A Divided Country Still Lead?

America is fiercely divided on many important domestic issues. Debates about global issues like globalization, free trade agreements, and immigration have also become divisive. World leaders fear an America that continues to be weakened by its internal divisions, unwilling to play its international role effectively and taking unilateral, controversial actions to suddenly pull out of the Paris Climate Accord and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But the world will not wait long for the U.S. to sort its domestic problems. Some countries may take advantage of this period of American uncertainty and rash international behavior. Can a divided country still lead? Senator Mitchell has had a long and distinguished career. He served for several years as Chairman of the DLA Piper law firm, now Chairman Emeritus. Before that he served as a federal judge and as Majority Leader of the United States Senate. He was Chairman of peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, which resulted in an agreement in 2001 that ended an historic conflict and for which he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as Special Envoy to the Middle East. In 2008 Time Magazine described him as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He is the author of five books, most recently a memoir entitled The Negotiator: Reflections on an American Life (2015) and A Path To Peace (2016).