UC San Diego civil war expert to discuss the threat of a second one in the U.S.

On March 15 from 5 p.m.-6 p.m., New York Times bestselling author Barbara F. Walter, a Del Mar resident, will discuss her new book, “How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them.” Walter, a political scientist at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, has been studying civil wars for 30 years.

The event will be held at the Great Hall on the UC San Diego campus and on Zoom.

In the her book, she examines the dramatic rise in violent extremism around the globe – in Iraq, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Philippines, India, Syria – and reveals how many of the risk factors for civil war are emerging here in the United States. The country has undergone a seismic cultural, economic and demographic change. Americans are increasingly distrustful of their government and each other and misinformation is spreading widely, largely because of social media. “Where is the United States today?” she asks in the book. “We are a factionalized anocracy that is quickly approaching the open insurgency stage, which means we are closer to civil war than any of us would like to believe.”

Walter was recently featured on CNN, in the San Diego Union-Tribune and the Washington Post. Her talk is free and open to the public. Thad Kousser, professor of political science and department chair, will moderate the event.

Register for the event at bit.ly/3I6BCWC