A series of surveys and polls have found that a high percentage of Americans believe that civil war is possible in the next decade amid increasing political division.
A survey conducted by the Economist and YouGov published Friday found that 66% of Americans believe that political divisions have significantly worsened since 2021. A further 62% expect these divisions to increase. Two in five of Americans believe that a civil war is “somewhat likely” or “very likely” over the course of the next ten years, with Republicans believing this more than Democrats, the survey noted.
Only 9% of Americans believe that political violence will decline in the coming years. 60% anticipate an increase, the survey continued. Although Republicans and Democrats disagree whether political violence will reach all-out civil war levels, both sides agree that the frequency of political violence will increase.
POLL: voters are more economically literate than politicians. https://t.co/empQ3I542T
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 22, 2022
The poll was conducted from August 20 – 23, 2022 amongst 1,500 U.S. adults with a margin of error of approximately 3%. (RELATED: Six Major US Cities Report Historic Increases In Violent Crime)
The findings align with a University of California, Davis study which sampled 8,620 adults on the Ipsos KnowledgePanel between May 13 and June 2, 2022. It found that half of Americans believe that a U.S. civil war is coming, amid alienation from, and increasing mistrust in American democratic institutions and society. Researchers described the findings as “chilling.”
“Substantial minorities of the population endorse violence, including lethal violence, to obtain political objectives,” the authors concluded from the survey. (RELATED: Democrat-Run Cities Have More Homicides Per Capita, Data Shows)
“The findings are scary, but not surprising,” extremist psychology professor Kurt Braddock told Science. The professor further noted that the U.S. has seen a significant increase in individual willingness to engage in violence. Such an attitude that is sure to spill over into the political world.