Is Civil War Coming to America? (1st 7 weeks)
F 2022

Description

This SDG seeks to examine the possibility of a second  civil war in America and if so so how to prevent it.  It makes use of two core books the first being Barbara F. Walter's  How Civil Wars Start And How to Stop Them. Walter is a professor of international relations  at the University of California-San Diego and an expert in the causes of civil wars. Her book examines the conditions in other countries that have led to the outbreak of civil war including the danger of  anocracy or illiberal democracy , the rise of factions, the consequences of groups loosing status, and  accelerants including social media that propel a dispute.  The second book is by Stephen Marche and entitled The Next Civil War Dispatches from the American Future. Marche is a novelist and culture writer. He discusses a variety of scenarios which could give rise to the outbreak of civil war in the US. Through the use of the core books and additional materials this SDG will  examine the current conditions in the US,  the dangers facing the US, what  a 21st century civil war in the US  might look like  and  what  can and should be done to avoid such an event.  

Weekly Topics

1. Walter, Chapter 1: The Danger of Anocracy and Chapter 2: The rise of Factions (pages 3-57.)

2. Walter, Chapter 3: The Dark Consequences of Losing Status, Chapter 4: When Hope Dies and Chapter 5: The Accelerant (pages 58-128.)

3. Marche, Introduction to the Immediate Future of the United States  and Dispatch One: The Battle of the Bridge (pages 1-68.)

4. Marche,  Dispatch Two: Portrait of an Assassination and Dispatch Three: The Fall of New York (pages 69-150.)

5. Marche, Dispatch Four: The Outbreak of Widespread Violence and Dispatch Five: The End of the Republic (pages 151-224.)

6. Walter, Chapter 6 How Close Are We? and Chapter 7: What a War Would Look Like. (pages 129-193.)

7. Walter, Chapter 8: Preventing a Civil War (pages 194-226.) Marche, Conclusion (pages 225-229.) 

America is Not on the Brink of Civil War https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/america-civil-war-prophecies/620850/

Three Factors Determine the Start of Civil Wars and the US Has Them All https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/18/how-civil-wars-start/.

How the US Can Avoid Another Civil War  https://time.com/6133380/us-avert-civil-war/.

Harvard Political Scientist Says Civil War Unlikely https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/01/harvard-political-scientist-says-u-s-civil-war-unlikely/.

No, America Is Not on the Verge of Another Civil War, But We Can Learn from the Last One https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/11/no-america-is-not-verge-another-civil-war-that-doesnt-mean-it-cant-learn-its-last-one/.

Bibliography

Walter, Barbara F., How Civil Wars Start And How to Stop Them, Crown, 2022.

Marche, Stephen, The Next Civil War Dispatches for the American Future, Avid Reader Press, 2022.

America Is Not on the Brink of Civil War https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/america-civil-war-prophecies/620850/.

Three Factors Determine the Start of Civil Wars and the US Has  Them All   https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/18/how-civil-wars-start/.

How the US Can Avoid Another Civil War   https://time.com/6133380/us-avert-civil-war/.

Harvard Political Scientist Says Civil War Unlikely https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/01/harvard-political-scientist-says-u-s-civil-war-unlikely/.

No, America Is Not on the Verge of Another Civil War, But We Can Learn from the Last One https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/11/no-america-is-not-verge-another-civil-war-that-doesnt-mean-it-cant-learn-its-last-one/.