He also claims his “ deal of the century” will solve the Israel-Palestine conundrum. In Asia, it is in retreat.ĭonald Trump, desperate for a Nobel peace prize, offered to mediate the 70-year-old North Korea-South Korea stand-off. In the Middle East and Africa, the US – no longer a global policeman – is focused on supporting Israel, squeezing Iran and selling arms, to the exclusion of almost all else. One reason this happens more frequently today, and more anarchically, is declining American engagement. As long as these aims remain unmet, they show scant interest in peace.Īmbitious states have always sought to dominate neighbours in the way China, for example, is doing now. Here, as elsewhere, rival rulers claim to be upholding order or fighting “terrorism” while, in reality, they seek to extend national influence and economic advantage. Libya is a classic case of a state of chaos deliberately fed and manipulated by external powers, in this instance Turkey, Qatar, Russia, Egypt and the UAE. Modern wars are mostly about power and treasure. Great moral crusades, famous causes and genuine ideological struggles are few and far between. They are conducted without regard for civilian lives, the Geneva conventions regulating armed conflict, or the interests of host populations in whose name they are fought. Today’s wars are mostly undeclared, undefined and inglorious affairs typically involving multiple parties, foreign governments, proxy forces, covert methods and novel weapons.
According to a survey published last week by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 60% of armed conflicts have been active for at least a decade and peace-making prospects globally are in decline. Neat and tidy endings, even if sometimes illusory, are rarer these days.
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