ITEMS OF INTEREST January 16, 2006 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Patrick Dunn

"CONFOUNDING CONVENTIONAL WISDOM, a major new report reveals that all forms of political violence, except international terrorism, have declined worldwide since the early 1990s.

"Supported by five governments, published by Oxford University Press and released [October 17], the Human Security Report is the most comprehensive annual survey of trends in warfare, genocide, and human rights abuses. The Report, which was produced by the Human Security Centre at the University of British Columbia, shows how, after nearly five decades of inexorable increase, the number of genocides and violent conflicts dropped rapidly in the wake of the Cold War....

"[Among the Report's findings:] The number of armed conflicts has declined by more than 40 percent since 1992. ... The number of international crises, often harbingers of war, fell by more than 70 percent between 1981 and 2001. Wars between countries are more rare than in previous eras and now constitute less than 5 percent of all armed conflicts. The number of military coups and attempted coups has declined by some 60 percent since 1963. ... The period since the end of World War II is the longest interval without wars between the major powers in hundreds of years. ...

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