[extropy-chat] Human Security Report: Sharp decline in number of wars, deaths from war, genocide

[Damien Sullivan]

On Tue, Oct 18, 2005 at 06:32:10PM -0700, Neil H. wrote:

>    [1]http://www.humansecurityreport.info/index.php?option=content&task=v
>    iew&id=28&Itemid=63
>    A few news/opinion pieces about it:
>    [2]http://csmonitor.com/2005/1018/p08s02-comv.html
>    [3]http://csmonitor.com/2005/1018/p01s01-wogi.html?s=u2
>    [4]http://www.cbc.ca/storyview/MSN/world/national/2005/10/18/global-wa
>    rs051018.html
>    A few highlights from the report:
>    * The number of armed conflicts around the world has declined by more
>    than 40% since the early 1990s
>    * The average number of deaths per conflict fell 98% between 1950 and
>    2002 (from 38,000 deaths to 600 deaths)

I note that 1950 was the beginning of the Korean War.  Bit of a high point.

I'd guess that 1913 was not a particularly violent year.

And a unipolar world might be conducive to peace, at least between non-poles.

So, good news, but hardly immune to change even in the not too far future.
Probably the biggest assurance would be that the US and China are both
nuclear.

>    * The number of genocides and politicides fell by 80% between 1988 and
>    2001

I guess I should read it, but is that number of general events or number of
people killed in genocides?  And, why those dates?

>    * There were 25 ongoing armed secessionist conflicts in 2004, the
>    lowest number since 1976.

Why those, different, dates?

Four different time ranges are given.  This smells of cherry-picking.

-xx- Damien X-)