THE HISTORY OF CONFLICT
War, and the
Uneven Peace.
THE QUESTION
Peace for whom,
and by which measure?
Explore the recorded history of conflict, the limits of the “Long Peace,” and what has changed in the 2020s.
The 2020s, in perspective
A more violent decade?
Compare 2020–2025 with an earlier period. The answer depends on the measure.
State-based armed conflict
Active conflicts worldwide
View the annual data table
The geography of the record
Peace has never been evenly shared.
Each square counts active conflicts in a region and year. Select a square for one year, or use From/To below to explore a period.
Regional conflict patterns, 1946–2025
Regions describe the location of the incompatibility in UCDP, not the extent of territory exposed to fighting. A conflict assigned to multiple regions appears in each; regional totals must not be added.
Selected region & period
Africa · 2025
Annual data · 1946–2025 · Both endpoint years included
Centuries of recorded conflict
The long view. With gaps in the record.
Browse two historical catalogues. Each mark is a source record, not a universally agreed war.
Browse the records
What do we mean by “The Long Peace”?
A historical claim.
Not a universal experience.
The term commonly refers to the relative restraint in major interstate warfare after World War II. Civil wars, colonial wars and mass violence continued. Which states, wars and deaths are counted changes the conclusion.
Whether the pattern marks a lasting statistical shift remains debated. This dashboard lets you examine the measures without treating a recent increase as proof of what comes next.