Civil War in the West

A leading war‑studies scholar argues that the most important near‑term security risk for Western countries will be violent internal conflict rather than traditional interstate wars: demographic, economic, cultural decline plus elite paralysis and new media dynamics make Western states vulnerable to civil‑war‑style breakdowns. This reframes what militaries and policymakers should prepare for — not only external defense but domestic resilience, logistics, policing doctrine, and political cohesion. — If taken seriously, this shifts defense budgets, domestic policing doctrine, civil‑liberties debates, and political organizing toward preventing and managing internal violence rather than focusing primarily on interstate or AI/space threats.