Talks & Entertainment

Humans are tribal. We need to belong to groups. But the tribal instinct is not just an instinct to belong; it is an instinct to exclude. In many parts of the world, including the regions of greatest national security interest to the U.S., the group identities that matter most—the ones that people will kill and die for—are ethnic, religious, sectarian, or clan-based.

In Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of Nations, Chua—the bestselling author of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Yale Law School professor—argues that the U.S., with its focus on national identity, has been blind to tribal politics. Chua believes this blindness has not only undermined American foreign policy but has recently allowed dangerous forms of political tribalism, such as ethnonationalist movements and populist backlash against elites, to take hold domestically as well.

In Political Tribes, Chua argues that America must rediscover a national identity that transcends our political tribes, acknowledges the reality of group differences, and fights the deep inequities that divide us. In conversation with J.D. Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy. Book signing to follow.