Seth D. Kaplan is a leading expert on fragile states, societies, and communities. He is a Professorial Lecturer in the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins University, Senior Adviser for the Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT), and consultant to organizations such as the World Bank, U.S. State Department, and U.S. Agency for International Development. His latest book, FRAGILE NEIGHBORHOODS: Repairing American Society, One Zip Code at a Time (Little, Brown Spark), is an urgent exploration of why American society is in trouble—and how to fix it. Blending the stories of five organizations working successfully to repair America’s social fabric with the latest research and his keen observations, Kaplan persuasively argues for a sideways approach to change — not a top down or bottom-up perspective. He reveals the innovative ideas and initiatives that leading-edge social repairers are developing to revitalize relationships and social habitats across neighborhoods located everywhere — from rural Kentucky to inner-city Detroit.
