How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them

Content Warning: The source text depicts acts of violence and other crimes associated with civil wars.

The title of this chapter, “When Hope Dies,” reveals its primary focus: loss of hope by a group, particularly after failed protests and elections, that can trigger civil wars. Walter uses two case studies to support her assertion.

First, she focuses on the Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland has been the homeland of Irish Catholics for centuries. Thus, they are considered a sons of the soil group to this region. Since the 12th century, however, various groups conquered and colonized their land, making Irish Catholics used to loss. Conditions greatly worsened for Irish Catholics under British rule. Walter underscores that the most painful loss for Irish Catholics occurred in 1922, when the British government did not grant them independence alongside the rest of Ireland.

To make matters worse, the British government also revised Northern Ireland’s borders so that Protestants, who identified mostly as British, made up the majority of the region’s population. Protestants now controlled all aspects of daily life for Irish Catholics and enacted laws, supported by the British government, that denied Irish Catholics “the best jobs, the best land, and the best homes” (79).