Polarization: Walter Russell Mead on ‘Partisanship and Foreign Policy’

American politics are growing increasingly agitated, and rising anger is affecting the business of government too. Does partisan bickering still stop at the water’s edge, or does it affect foreign policy too? Noted historian Walter Russell Mead discusses political polarization in the United States and how the divisions in our country influence trade, diplomacy and national security.

About the Speaker

Walter Russell Mead is an American academic, the James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and Humanities at Bard College. He previously taught American foreign policy at Yale University. He was also Editor-at-Large of The American Interest magazine.

About the Series

The polarized and compartmentalized intellectual climate on American campuses both mirrors and contributes to similar maladies in American civic life.

To examine the problem and begin to discuss possible solutions both at the level of the campus and society, Arizona State University’s School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, together with its partners in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, is hosting a lecture series and conference, “Polarization and Civil Disagreement: Confronting America’s Civic Crisis.” You can also watch discussions and join the conversation on Facebook.

WATCH: See the full list of episodes of “Polarization: A Civic Crisis”