This TED Talk features democracy advisor and author Rachel Kleinfeld, recorded live at TED Summit 2019.

Picture your dream vacation. Maybe you're dying to go to Rio for carnival, or you really just want to hang out on a Mexican beach.

Or maybe you're going to join me in New Orleans for Jazz Fest.

Now, I know it's less pleasant,

but picture for a moment one of the most violent places on earth.

Did anyone think of the same place?

Brazil is the most violent country in the world today.

More people have been dying there over the last three years than in Syria.

And in Mexico, more people have died over the last 15 years than in Iraq or Afghanistan.

In New Orleans, more people per capita are dying

than in war-torn Somalia.

The fact is, war only results in about 18% of violent deaths worldwide.

Today, you are more likely to die violently if you live in a middle-income democracy

with high levels of income inequality and serious political polarization. The United States has four

of the 50 most violent cities on Earth. Now, this is a fundamental alteration in the nature of violence historically,

but it's also an opportunity,

because while few people can do much to end war,

violence in our democracies is our problem.

And while regular voters are a big part of that problem, we're also key to the solution.

Now, I work at a think tank, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,

where I advise governments on what to do about violence.

But the dirty secret is,

...