Bloomberg Reported the Highest Number of Conflicts in the World in 30 Years

This year, 183 regional conflicts took place all over the globe, which is the highest number for three decades, Bloomberg writes citing data from the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). The study considered exclusively regional conflicts that do not include confrontation between superpowers, such as the United States, Russia and China. However, the IISS notes that groups like Hamas are “supported” by major powers. “Intractability is a defining feature of today’s global conflict landscape,” the authors emphasize. The intensity of conflicts in the world, according to IISS, is increasing year on year, with a 14% increase in deaths and a 28% increase in violence, according to the latest study. The authors find that the world is dominated by "increasingly intractable conflict and armed violence amidst growing numbers of actors, complex and overlapping motivations, global influence and accelerating climate change.” At the same time, more regional conflicts do not suggest the threat of a major war such as the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 wars, but “tensions are rising, especially between the US and China.” “After a century of limited warfare on the continent, <...> too many statesmen viewed war as a useful policy tool, which turned out to be a terrible mistake,” the IISS claimed. As an example, the authors of the study cite the conflict in Ukraine, the prospect of resolving which, in their view, should depend on “Kyiv receiving security guarantees that will ensure Ukraine’s future territorial integrity.” Moscow has repeatedly stated the need to accept “territorial realities” in order to start peace talks. The IISS also pointed out that Western politicians still do not know “how far Xi Jinping is willing to extend his aggression in the South China Sea, primarily to Taiwan”. In addition, the danger remains that “Israel’s devastation of the Gaza Strip” could provoke a new global conflict in the Middle East. As the IISS notes, the Situation is further complicated by the accelerating climate crisis, which “continues to act as a multiplier for root causes of conflict”, as well as the “irresistible” divide between Russia and Western powers. “Democratic countries feel increasingly obliged to seek friends wherever they can find them, ignoring, for example, the horrific brutality legalized in Saudi Arabia,” the study authors said. According to the institute, in America, most regional conflicts are caused by criminal rivalries, especially in the drug trade. “Criminal gangs are gaining more and more power in relation to the state in many South and Central American countries. The so-called war on drugs, which many governments have waged for decades, has had little effect on either production or supply chains,” the article said. At the same time, according to the institute, in Eurasia, conflicts are caused by territorial disputes that have continued since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Thus, in addition to the most “violent” conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip, the IISS listed a dozen more countries “split” by internal strife. Among them: Syria, Brazil, Myanmar, Mexico, Iraq, South Sudan, South Lebanon, Somalia and Afghanistan.