Democracy, Populism, & Domestic Politics, Diplomacy, International Relations A UPenn conference shows where Democratic and GOP visions of global order could meet

This was a heavy-duty week for introspection about America's  painful internal divisions.

The Kavanaugh hearing laid bare the ugly political partisanship that threatens the reputation of the U.S. Supreme Court.

And a high-powered colloquium at the University of Pennsylvania — featuring former Vice President Joe Biden, along with former National Security Advisers Susan Rice and H.R. McMaster — exposed the competing visions of the future global order pursued by the Obama and Trump White Houses.

Yet the intense discussions at Perry World House, UPenn's new foreign-policy center, laid bare something intriguing: that the supposed zero-sum war between America Firsters and so-called globalists is a vast exaggeration promoted by President Trump and alt-right ideologues. With a less divisive president, centrist Democrats and Republicans could find common ground on many key international issues, including the necessary role of alliances and multinational organizations.

Read more in The Philadelphia Inquirer >>