The end of the Cold War, marked by the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, had an equally dramatic effect on the general level of armed conflict in the global system. The levels of both interstate and societal warfare declined dramatically through the 1990s and this trend continues in the early 2000s, falling over 60% from their peak levels. To review the complete listing, "Major Episodes of Political Violence, 1946-2012," used to construct the warfare trends, click here. You may also view regional trends graphs by clicking here.     

Editor’s comment: I often ask  people for fun whether they think armed conflict in the world is more, less or the same as it was twenty years ago. Almost universally the answer is “much more” and yet the truth, as this interesting abstract from the folks at Systemic Peace shows, it’s dramatically less. We have more media coverage, not more conflict. Thanks be to God, our world is currently on a peaceful, not warring trend.