Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

How tribalism causes problems at home and abroad.In a biting critique of American foreign policy and analysis of the nation's divisive culture wars, Chua (Law/Yale Univ.; Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, 2011, etc.) argues that tribal affiliation exerts a crucial, powerful force on individuals' behaviors and identities. Humans' need for "bonds and attachments," she asserts, fulfills an instinct to belong but also to exclude. People "will sacrifice, and even kill and die, for their groups." Reprising some ideas from her book World on Fire (2002) on the negative consequences of exporting free market democracy, Chua examines America's failed involvement in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Venezuela as well as responses to terrorist groups. The author blames blindness to tribalism for the disastrous outcomes. That blindness comes, in part, from America's unique success in assimilating diverse populations into its "ethnicity-transcending national identity." Assessing other countries, Americans have failed to recognize tribal affiliations and rivalries or the existence of a repressive "market-dominant minority" that controls major sectors of the economy. Instead, the U.S. has fixated on its mission to foil communism and export democracy. Focused on the Cold War, "U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan never saw the potent anti-American, anti-Western group identity fueling the Islamic fundamentalist fighters." In Iraq, foreign policy was shaped by a belief in "markets and democracy as a universal prescription for the many ills of underdevelopment." In reality, the downfall of Saddam Hussein incited rivalries among tribal groups and the rise of ethnic conflict and fundamentalism. In Trump's America, cohesion has splintered "into ever more specific subgroups created by overlapping racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual orientation categories" that feel threatened by one another. Inclusivity, hailed by the left, has devolved into exclusivity as groups seek to exert "exclusive rights to their own histories, symbols, and traditions." Nevertheless, Chua is heartened by individuals' efforts to bridge divides and to undermine "purveyors of political tribalism" on the left and right.A persuasive call to rethink foreign policy and heal domestic fissures. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Library Journal
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Chua (law, Yale Law Sch.; Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother) educates listeners about human tribalism and the countless ways tribalism causes problems in the modern world. To most Americans, the idea of humans belonging to tribes seems reserved for ancient humankind or people from staunchly divided developing countries. This fundamental misunderstanding permeates to the highest elected officials and is a large contributor to U.S. foreign policy failures in countries such as Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Americans do not belong to tribes as obvious as the Sunnis or Shias, but they belong to several tribes, even on a sub-conscious level, that span race, socioeconomic status, religion, and political philosophy. Chua illustrates how various tribes have created the intensely divisive political culture seen in current U.S. society. This work challenges Americans and calls them to action, regardless of which tribes they belong to, to set aside differences and reunite as a single tribe devoted to America's values of freedom, liberty, and equality. Narrator Julia Whelan delivers Chua's deeply analytical text with a crisp tone that makes for easy listening. VERDICT A must-listen for those interested in sociology, political science, and history. ["Chua's inquiry is a potentially useful one in an era of violent, reactionary white nationalism": LJ 2/1/18 review of the Penguin Pr. hc.]-Sean Kennedy, Univ. of Akron Lib. © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
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A Yale Law School professor with expertise in ethnic conflict and globalization, Chua (The Triple Package) devotes her thoughtful, if overreaching, survey to the role of tribalism in politics and society in and outside the U.S. She concentrates in the book's first half on how U.S. foreign policy, to its considerable detriment, has ignored the role of "political tribes," especially those involving a socioeconomically powerful "market-dominant minority," such as ethnic Chinese throughout Southeast Asia. Chua spends the second half looking at tribal politics in the U.S., especially "white-against-white" animosity, and touches on such little-known phenomena as the conspiracy-minded Sovereign Citizen movement, as well as the far more mainstream NASCAR culture. However, there is too little here on the vital role of religion in the formation and functioning of American political tribes. In an epilogue, Chua decries the tribalist tendency to polarize the world into "a virtuous us and a demonized them" but offers little to help Americans move beyond such views besides an appeal for more outreach and dialogue. Although the book ends weakly and too soon for the ground it attempts to cover, this is still a thought-provoking, illuminating study on a hugely important political and cultural issue. Agent: Tina Bennett, WME. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

The late speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill, is credited for coining the phrase, All politics is local. Indeed, the human propensity for segregating into groups based on shared cultural, religious, or ethnic commonalities takes this notion to its logical conclusion. An awareness of this most basic tenet of human nature would have benefited American foreign policy during such conflicts as the wars in Vietnam and Afghanistan, but because officials tend to think in terms of big picture ideologies (e.g., communism versus capitalism), the key to resolving such crises was lost. In each case, a core understanding of tribal identities could have meant the difference between victory and defeat. An expert in the fields of ethnic conflict and globalization, Chua (Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, 2011) examines how a different perspective might have led to greater success and applies these same polarizing attitudes to current domestic political discourse. Presented with keen clarity and brimming with definitive insights, Chua's analysis of identity politics is essential reading for understanding policy challenges both at home and abroad.--Haggas, Carol Copyright 2017 Booklist

Library Journal
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Legal scholar and author Chua (John M. Duff, Jr. Professor, Yale Law Sch.) follows up her popular and controversial The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother with a book that returns to the theme of her first two titles (World on Fire and Day of Empire): global political instability. Asking provocative questions about why groups form around particular ethnic identities or local needs, Chua begins with a discussion of American exceptionalism-and blindness to political "tribes" (which are never clearly defined)-and then moves on to test her framework in chapters on Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Venezuela. She rounds off with two chapters on North America, discussing inequality and the power of "political tribes" in a democratic system. Chua's inquiry is a potentially useful one in an era of violent, reactionary white nationalism. However, in keeping with her earlier work, she falls back on ethnocultural generalizations that do nothing to advance a deeper political understanding. Her notes indicate a heavy lean on current periodical literature. VERDICT This book will likely find readers familiar with Chua's previous work, but those seeking thoughtful sociopolitical analysis of nationalism and identity will need to look elsewhere. [See Prepub Alert, 8/28/17.]-Hanna Clutterbuck-Cook, Harvard Univ. Lib., Cambridge, MA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.