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Many in the world see the influence of the United States as a force for good. It applies pressure on authoritarian regimes such as Iran to abide by human rights, and it supports nations such as Ukraine defending themselves against imperial aggression. But others argue that the Afghanistan and Iraq interventions show that American exceptionalism and the attempt to play the world’s policeman have wreaked irrevocable havoc which the rest of the world is still paying a price for today.

This week ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections in the US on The Sunday Debate, we’re asking - is America a force for good in the world? To debate the issue we’re joined by foreign policy expert Shadi Hamid and academic Samuel Moyn. Our host for this debate is journalist and academic, Philippa Thomas.

This episode is part one of two, join us on Wednesday’s episode to hear part two of the debate.

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