Name: Is the US headed towards another civil war?
Uploaded: 2023-08-14T14:53:15Z
Duration: 13 min 3 s
Description: Based on her work for a CIA task force aimed at predicting civil wars, political scientist Barbara F. Walter examines the rise in extremism and threats to democracies around the globe -- and paints an unsettling picture of the increasing likelihood of a second civil war in the United States.

Barbara F. Walter: Is the US headed towards another civil war?

Is the US headed towards another civil war?

Based on her work for a CIA task force aimed at predicting civil wars, political scientist Barbara F. Walter examines the rise in extremism and threats to democracies around the globe -- and paints an unsettling picture of the increasing likelihood of a second civil war in the United States.

Civil wars are on the rise globally, and research shows they often break out in countries that are neither fully democratic nor fully autocratic, especially where politics become driven by identity. The United States was officially classified as a partial democracy between 2020 and 2021 after a series of downgrades to its democratic institutions. Groups that once held dominant power but now sense their status slipping are the most likely to spark violence. The talk urges action to strengthen democracy, address economic resentment, and manage demographic shifts peacefully.