The Next Civil War: Dispatches from the American Future

In this cogent if alarmist account, novelist and cultural critic Marche (The Unmade Bed) argues that the nation’s “collapse will arrive sooner and more suddenly than anybody expects.” Outlining potential scenarios for civil war, Marche imagines catalyst events that would exacerbate present-day social tensions. In the first, a small-town sheriff refuses a government order and becomes a hero to conspiracy theorists and anti-government activists, resulting in an uprising the president must ask the military to quell. The second, somewhat less likely scenario, involves a presidential assassination in which the assassin and the victim become heroic symbols. The third and most chilling scenario includes a hurricane that ravages New York City, followed by other climate disasters that make food insecurity a constant concern for vast swaths of the U.S. To help give shape to these hypotheticals, Marche speaks to political scientists, sociologists, white nationalists, gun show attendees, and others with insights into hot-button issues. He ultimately contends that “since the United States no longer functions as a nation,” allowing part of the country to secede is among “the best-case scenarios.” Though Marche includes some astute commentary from experts, his thought experiments are more sketched than fully realized. Readers will find plenty to worry about, but little to hold on to. (Jan.)