There is currently a lot of talk in the United States about a new civil war starting, prompted by Donald Trump’s lies about winning the last presidential election. It is not as implausible as it might sound, given the amount of support Trump has on social media, the number of people who belong to militias that support him and the number of people who have weapons.

So is a second civil war possible? See the video below of CNN’s “Reality Check with John Avlon” from 6 January in which historian Professor Edna Greene Medford and CNN’s Elle Reeve talk about the American history of violent struggles to hold onto power.

See also the recent book “How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them” by Barbara F. Walter.