'When one of the world's leading scholars of civil war tells us that a country is on the brink of violent conflict, we should pay attention. Drawing on her deep understanding of the causes of intra-state violence in places like Myanmar, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Syria, and Yugoslavia, Barbara Walter argues, chillingly, that many of the conditions that commonly precede civil wars are present today in places we would least expect it. This is an important book'

-- Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, authors of How Democracies Die

'An absorbing guide ... this book performs a valuable service' ? Sunday Times

'How Civil Wars Start is a stop sign for us. What an imperative book for our time. Read and act'

-- Ibram X. Kendi, author of How to Be an Antiracist

'We have all now witnessed the death of the idea of American Exceptionalism. We are in the same boat as everyone else. What do we do? Barbara Walter shows the way. Polemical and essential'

-- James A. Robinson, co-author of Why Nations Fail

'A vivid, compelling book on a globally vital issue. Timely, important and original'

-- Professor Richard English, author of Does Terrorism Work? A History

'Barbara F. Walter has drawn on decades of experience and unparalleled expertise to write a powerful and indispensable book.How Civil Wars Start brilliantly illuminates the history of civil wars and the profound dangers to our union today, serving as both a warning about the stakes in our politics and a call to action for those who want to preserve multiethnic democracy and the values that America is supposed to stand for' -- Ben Rhodes, author of After the Fall
Barbara F. Walter is the Rohr Professor of International Relations at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Walter runs the award-winning blog Political Violence at a Glance and has written for the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Reuters and Foreign Affairs.