Things seem bad but this is actually the most peaceful time in human history

Shannon Corbeil
Sep 12, 2019 2:53 AM PDT
1 minute read
Wars photo

SUMMARY

“Of all the conflicts going on, none is an active war between countries.” This is the heart of the argument Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell makes for war being, well, over.

"Of all the conflicts going on, none is an active war between countries." This is the heart of the argument Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell makes for war being, well, over.

Yes, there are civil wars, and yes, there are local conflicts — or even international conflicts (for example, the United States continues to fight terrorist organizations throughout the world), but their impact is much smaller than a war between nations.


"When two nations engage in war, they can mobilize much bigger forces, have access to all of the state's resources and logistics, and almost all of the population," narrates the host of Is War Over? — A Paradox Explained. This video from 2014 (see below) still holds up and explores the notion that humans are in fact learning from the past — and maybe even phasing out war.

The world is still recovering from the Cold War and colonialism, but even so, there are many positive trends that are being observed. According to the video, victory for one side of a civil war was very common until 1989, but today, negotiated endings have increased.

There are also fewer attacks between nation states, which the video attributes to the following four reasons:

Russia causes a lot of problems, though...

1. Democratization

Democracies hardly ever fight each other. The most recent example is the Russo-Georgian War of 2008, a one-week conflict that ended with a ceasefire agreement.

Just think of what box office numbers would look like without China...

2. Globalization

War is not an effective means of achieving economic goals. Think about the mutual interests of, say, the United States and China — even though our political ideologies differ, we rely heavily on each other for financial progress.

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945. It is currently made up of 193 Member States.

(UN Photo by Joao Araujo Pinto)

3. "War is so 20th century"

There are international entities that govern laws of war now. The Geneva Convention and the Hague Convention are two primary examples, as well as the United Nations.

Nagorno-Karabakh is a disputed territory within Azerbaijan, which remains susceptible to border skirmish and military attacks, despite peace talks and efforts to uphold a ceasefire.

4. Borders are mostly fixed now

"After World War II, territorial wars generally stopped when most countries pledged to accept international borders." There are still conflicts and border disputes, but the aforementioned international entities will often intervene, securing resolutions much more peacefully than before.

The video lays out the road to everlasting peace — or at least the marker for it. Check it out below:

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