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Barbara F. Walter
Barbara F. Walter speaking at a gala event
Born	Bronxville, New York, U.S.
Education	Bucknell University (BA) University of Chicago (MA, PhD)
Employer(s)	University of California, San Diego Columbia University Harvard University

Barbara F. Walter is an American political scientist who is the Rohr Professor of International Affairs at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. Walter’s main areas of study are civil wars, violent extremism and domestic terrorism. Walter has written multiple books including How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them (2022) which examined whether the US was heading toward a second civil war.

Early life and education

Walter grew up in Yonkers, New York. Her mother emigrated from Switzerland where she grew up on a dairy farm. Her father emigrated from Germany where he came from a long line of inventors, entrepreneurs, and academics. She received her B.A. in political science and German from Bucknell University, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science, both from the University of Chicago. She completed post-doctoral fellowships at the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, and at the War and Peace Institute at Columbia University.

Career

Walter has taught at the University of California, San Diego since 1996. She spent 2005-2006 as a Neihaus Fellow at Princeton University. In 2012 she co-founded the blog Political Violence @ a Glance with Erica Chenoweth which ran until 2023. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Walter has consulted for the World Bank, the US Departments of Defense and State, the United Nations, and the January 6th Committee.

She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC and PBS, and has written for The New Yorker,, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Time, The New Republic, and Foreign Affairs.

Walter has consulted for the World Bank, the US Departments of Defense and State, the United Nations, and the January 6th Committee.

Honors and awards

• Member, National Academy of Sciences
• Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
• Speaker, Aspen Ideas Festival (2022)
• Susan Strange Award (International Studies Association, 2021)
• Kenneth Waltz Distinguished Lecture, Columbia University (2022)
• Morton-Kenney Public Affairs Distinguished Lecture, Southern Illinois University (2019)
• Cyril Foster Distinguished Public Lecture, Oxford University (2018)

Selected bibliography

• Walter, Barbara F. (2009). Reputation and Civil War: Why Separatist Conflicts Are So Violent. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/CBO9780511642012. ISBN 9780521763523.
• Kahler, Miles, and Barbara Walter, editors. Territoriality and Conflict in an Era of Globalization. Cambridge University Press, 2006, Cambridge University Press
• Committing to Peace: The Successful Settlement of Civil Wars. Princeton Univ. Press. April 13, 2021. ISBN 9781400824465.
• Civil Wars, Insecurity, and Intervention. Columbia University Press. September 1999. ISBN 9780231116275.
• Walter, Barbara F. “Why Bad Governance Leads to Repeat Civil War.” The Journal of Conflict Resolution, vol. 59, no. 7, 2015, pp. 1242–72. JSTOR*Denny, Elaine K.; Walter, Barbara F. (March 2014). "Ethnicity and civil war". Journal of Peace Research. 51 (2): 199–212. doi:10.1177/0022343313512853. S2CID 110666158.
• Maliniak, Daniel; Powers, Ryan; Walter, Barbara F. (October 2013). "The Gender Citation Gap in International Relations". International Organization. 67 (4): 889–922. doi:10.1017/S0020818313000209. S2CID 54062777.
• Walter, Barbara F. “The Critical Barrier to Civil War Settlement.” International Organization, vol. 51, no. 3, 1997, pp. 335–364., doi:10.1162/002081897550384
• Walter, Barbara (January 2022). How Civil Wars Start and How To Stop Them. Crown. ISBN 9780593137789.

References

1. "Barbara F. Walter". Barbara F. Walter. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
2. Walter, Barbara F. (2022). How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them. Penguin Random House.
3. "Membership Roster". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
4. "Barbara F. Walter". gps.ucsd.edu. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
5. "Fellows 2005-2006". The Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
6. "About". Political Violence at a Glance. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
7. "Barbara F. Walter". www.nasonline.org. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
8. "Barbara F. Walter". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. July 22, 2022. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
9. "Speaking". Barbara F. Walter. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
10. Walter, Barbara F. (August 24, 2024). "Democracy Needs the Loser". The New Yorker. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
11. Walter, Barbara F. (January 24, 2022). "Why should we worry that the U.S. could become an 'anocracy' again? Because of the threat of civil war". The Washington Post.
12. Pollack, Kenneth M.; Walter, Barbara F.; Pollack, Kenneth M. (February 15, 2016). "Why Obama's Middle East Policy Is Failing". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
13. Walter, Barbara F.; Kydd, Andrew (September 29, 2011). "A win-win strategy for the Palestinians". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
14. "Trump Could Still Lead the U.S. to Civil War—Even if He Doesn't Run in 2024". Time. January 24, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
15. Walter, Barbara F.; Doherty, Maggie; Doherty, Maggie; Paoletta, Kyle; Paoletta, Kyle; Rivlin-Nadler, Max; Rivlin-Nadler, Max; McCordick, Jack; McCordick, Jack (April 14, 2022). "We Are Living in the Age of Civil War". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
16. "Barbara F. Walter". Foreign Affairs. January 4, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
17. "Writing". Barbara F. Walter. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
18. "Rohr Chair in Pacific International Relations, School of Global Policy and Strategy, University of California, San Diego | Aspen Ideas". Aspen Ideas Festival. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
19. "2020-2021 Awards Gallery". International Studies Association. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
20. "13th Annual Kenneth N. Waltz Lecture in IR with Barbara F. Walter | Office of Undergraduate Programs at the Climate School". undergrad.climate.columbia.edu. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
21. "Morton-Kenney lecture to examine worldwide increase in civil wars and impact on the United States". SIU News. Retrieved January 17, 2025.
22. "Cyril Foster Lecture 2018: The New New Civil Wars". talks.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved January 17, 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Barbara F. Walter's articles at Political Violence @ a Glance
• Barbara F. Walter's profile at UCSD

• 21st-century American women
• American political scientists
• American women political scientists
• Bucknell University alumni
• Living people
• People from Bronxville, New York
• University of California, San Diego faculty
• University of Chicago alumni
• Columbia University people
• Writers from New York (state)