THE FACT OF THE MATTER
BY PAUL HOPKINS
There can be no one who has not been moved to tears and outrage and a sense of helplessness by the daily images coming out of Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon, of the thousands of innocent souls caught in the nightmare that is war. There too, in the almost forgotten killing fields of South Sudan and Yemen.
The Global Peace Index (GPI) for 2026 finds that the world has continued its longstanding trajectory of deteriorating peacefulness, with armed conflict the dominant driver of the decline. There are now more active state-based conflicts than at any point since the end of the Second World War, while the number of countries involved in external conflict has nearly doubled since 2008.
World military expenditure has risen for the 10th consecutive year. While total deaths from conflict have declined from their 2023 peak, the past year still recorded the second-highest number of conflict deaths since the inception of the Index two decades ago.
The civil war in Sudan, the protracted conflict in Ukraine and the consequential war between Israel, the US and Iran have left the international environment in a more fragile and militarised state than at any point in the life of the Index.
Though 81 countries improved their level of peace according to the GPI, those gains were “dirtied by deteriorating peace” in 79 other nations. While Central and South America continue to earn the worst marks for societal safety and security, the US represents one of the only exceptions due to its “excessive incarceration rate”.
Overall, Western and Central Europe holds its own as the most generally peaceful region, while the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA) remains consistently the most tumultuous spot on the planet.
Iceland remains the most peaceful country in the world for the 19th consecutive year, followed by New Zealand, Switzerland, Slovenia and Ireland. Russia is the least peaceful country, with Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ukraine and Israel completing the bottom five.
Of particular note in this year’s 20th anniversary GPI — the most comprehensive to date — repercussions such as the growing refugee crisis, is driving a growing disparity between the least and the most peaceful nations.
In fact, the number of refugees and displaced persons has increased dramatically over the decade, to some 60 million people. There are nine countries with more than 10% of their population classified as refugees or displaced persons, with Somalia and South Sudan having more than 20% of their population displaced and Syria with over 60% displaced.
As the world descends into a far less peaceful state overall, the staggering cost of militarism and violence becomes painfully clear. According to the report, the US spends an outrageously high percentage of the world’s military expenditures — 38% — while the next largest military spender, China, accounts for considerably less, 10% of the global share. In the score of militarisation, the least peaceful countries include Israel, Russia, North Korea, Syria and the US.
The staggering cost is 13.3% of the globe’s total economic activity, while $13.6 trillion in purchasing power parity concerns violent conflict. That’s the equivalent of “$1,876 for every person in the world”.
Here’s another disturbing fact. Pick any year since 1776, when the American War of Independence took place, and there is about a 91% chance that America was involved in some war during that calendar year. No US president truly qualifies as a peacetime president. The US has never gone a decade without war, bar five years (1935-40) during the isolationist Great Depression.
For me, the most harrowing and disturbing aspect of a world at war is from another report that just landed in my in-tray. Around 90% of all deaths in today’s wars are civilians. Again the US has culpability here, if not downright blood on its hands, having launched 201 out of the 248 armed conflicts since the end of WWII — in 153 locations around the world.
A top defence of war is that it must be used to prevent something worse — genocide. Hmmm… To my mind, not only does militarism generate genocide rather than prevent it, but the distinction between war and genocide is a very fine line at best. Think back to Bosnia, Rwanda …
What did we say after the Holocaust? Something about how we must never allow it to happen again? Try telling that to the sacrificial souls caught up in the world at war…
