A review by jaredwill_
High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley

4.0

I read "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them" by Barbara F. Walter and "High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out" by Amanda Ripley together and, I think they are almost perfect companion pieces.
They both use some of the same examples as well as explore the dangers of conflict entrepreneurs but, more so they complement each other.
Walter's book shows how dangerous conflict can be and how the US is edging ever closer to civil war but, the solutions are macro and would need support in a deeply divided congress to implement.
Ripley's book details much lower stakes but, gives solutions that each individual person can take to reduce conflict around them.
Together they show how dangerous small-scale conflict can become if it's nurtured by conflict entrepreneurs, how individual people can slow or resolve these conflicts, and the kinds of tools governments can use to create bulwarks against the worst outcomes of these conflicts.