Ceasefires rarely produce a total cessation of violence.

Since World War II, formal declarations of war and peace treaties have become increasingly rare, replaced by cease-fires, authorizations of force, and "special military operations."

Research found that nonviolent protests are more likely to succeed than armed uprisings.

Because the Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, North and South Korea are technically still at war.

The Minsk peace accords failed to end fighting in eastern Ukraine in the mid-2010s

The Minsk Agreements of 2014 and 2015 sought to halt the war in eastern Ukraine through ceasefires and political reforms, but repeated violations left the accords unenforced and the conflict unresolved.

During the Cold War and into the 21st century, US and Soviet/Russian leaders repeatedly agreed to arms control treaties, though strained tensions have led to the expiration of agreements in recent years.

History shows what’s wrong with the idea that war is ‘normal’ in the Middle East

An old trope claims that war is ‘normal’, innate, and inevitable in the Middle East. However, the history of the region reveals complex and civilized systems of coexistence. Empires found economic and political strength in fostering diversity;...

Why don’t we negotiate with terrorists?

Politicians in the US and the UK regularly refuse to negotiate with terrorists. Some claim that negotiating with terrorists would be inappropriate and impractical, and might encourage and legitimize terrorists around the world. But, other Western governments—including France and Spain—have negotiated with terrorist groups. So why do some governments refuse to negotiate with terrorists, while others consider it effective? This article by Chatham House breaks down the history, strategies, and arguments around negotiating with terrorists.

Relationships between countries have become more peaceful since the rules-based order was established

Our World in Data monitors bilateral relationships on a spectrum from open rivalry to "positive peace"—deep cooperation and mutual protection. In 1945, no countries had highly cooperative security relationships. Today, nearly a fifth do.

The modern Olympic truce originated in a real pause in ancient conflict

Back in Ancient Greece, neighboring city-states were constantly at war. So when the Olympics started in 776 BCE, they needed a way to keep the peace. This video from the International Olympic Committee discusses the origins of the Olympic Truce and its reinstatement at the 1994 Games in Lillehammer.

An interactive map tracking conflict in the Middle East

Conflict and peace in the Middle East are constantly in flux. Decision-makers need up-to-date developments – both within individual countries and across the greater MENA region – to identify trends and risks of violence, and opportunities for...

A survey of armed conflict in the Middle East

The decade following the Arab Spring has been one of bloodshed and violence in the Middle East. In 2011, protests in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Libya led to infighting and political fragmentation. Civil wars, foreign interventions, and the rise of...

The Iranian Revolution relied largely on nonviolent tactics

Despite thousands of unarmed protesters killed by the Shah's forces, the revolution relied overwhelmingly on nonviolent tactics, including strikes, demonstrations, and civil disobedience, with up to 9 million Iranians peacefully taking to the streets, making it one of history's largest protest movements by population percentage.

The world's most peaceful countries

Global Peace Index presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to date on trends in peace, including the most and least peaceful countries in the world.

An interactive overview of the human toll of the Yemen conflict

The conflict in Yemen shows no signs of stopping. Civilians continue to suffer from military hostilities and human rights violations. More than 20,000 civilians have been killed and injured by the fighting since March 2015, according to the Office...

Timeline: the Middle East conflict

During the First World War, Western and Arab powers negotiated the future political status of Arab lands. Since WWI, a complex history of political, economic, and social events have fueled tension and violence between Israel and Palestine. This timeline, compiled by Al Jazeera, highlights important global events defining conflict in the Middle East from 1915 to 2007.

Wartime conferences exposed cracks in the US–Soviet alliance

At the Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam Conferences, Allied leaders coordinated WWII strategy—but deep disagreements over postwar Europe foreshadowed the Cold War. The USSR’s push for influence in Eastern Europe clashed with US and British calls for self-determination.

The 1956 Suez crisis was one of the earliest tests of the rules-based order

When Britain, France, and Israel secretly invaded Egypt, the Eisenhower administration supported UN resolutions condemning the invasion and called for a ceasefire—publicly criticizing its closest allies to uphold the principle that force should not be used to resolve international disputes.

What were the major battles of the Vietnam War?

As to be expected, there was no shortage of conflict during a war filled with guerrilla tactics. However, there were a few key battles and operations that influenced changes in warfare and ultimately led to the North's victory. This list of key battles starts with conflict between the France and Vietnam and ends with what became known as the fall of Saigon.

The Supreme Court has never definitively settled federal war powers

Despite more than two centuries of conflict over war powers, the Supreme Court has consistently avoided defining the precise boundary between congressional and executive authority, leaving that boundary to be contested by the political branches.

The “Phoney War” was an eight‑month build-up to war

From September 1939 to May 1940, following their war declaration on Germany, Britain and France entered a phase of military inaction—even as civil defence measures, naval blockades, and rationing intensified at home. Skirmishes were limited, but the decisive fighting didn't begin until Germany invaded Norway and France in April–May 1940, abruptly ending the uneasy stalemate.

The global nuclear arms regime has slowly eroded over the past few decades

Both Russia and the United States have withdrawn from key Cold War-era arms-control pacts. Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine marked a turning point, as it suspended its participation in inspections and data-sharing agreements.

Iran-Iraq war drained over $1T from the combined economies of Iran and Iraq

Across eight years (1980-88), Iran and Iraq each lost about $500 B in GDP, infrastructure destruction, military expenses, disrupted oil exports, and mounting debt—totaling over $1 T in economic damage.

The treaty that ended the First World War laid the groundwork for the Second.

Four Cold War hawks warn: Nuclear weapons still threaten the world

Despite the Cold War's end, the US and Russia still hold 95% of the world's nuclear weapons—many on hair-trigger alert. In this 2010 documentary, top former officials urge urgent action to reduce and eliminate the threat.

The last remaining US-Russia nuclear arms treaty expired in February 2026

The New START treaty, which capped US and Russian strategic warheads at 1,550 each, expired on Feb. 5, 2026. Without formal limits, fears of a renewed arms race are rising, as both nations could deploy more weapons while follow-on talks continue.

Testing assumptions about the war in Ukraine, one year later

Two years ago, policymakers in Washington made multiple predictions about the course of the war between Russia and Ukraine. One year later this site revisited several common assumptions about the war—for example, that Russia would swiftly defeat Ukraine—and asks several experts if they came true, or not. But things can always change.

The threat of nuclear annihilation reshaped global diplomacy

The first use of atomic weapons introduced the possibility of a war with no survivors. This article examines how nuclear fear shaped Cold War diplomacy and continues to influence international relations today.

Congress has formally declared war 11 times across five conflicts, the last in 1942

The five declared wars were the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, and World War II. Every major American military conflict since Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan has been fought without a formal declaration.

Presidents from both parties have resisted the authority of the War Powers Act

Presidents from both parties have treated the War Powers Resolution as voluntary, framing compliance as seeking "support" rather than "permission." Courts have declined to rule on the law's constitutionality each time a related case was brought before them.

The Nobel Peace Prize is sometimes awarded to inspire ideals, not honor achievements

Critics argue this approach has led to regrettable choices, such as honoring Yasser Arafat despite his militant past or Barack Obama before he established a peace legacy. Committee member Kåre Kristiansen resigned in protest after Arafat was named a laureate in 1994.

A legal scholar argues that the existing war powers framework may collapse in the event of a major power conflict

The legal tests presidents have used to avoid seeking congressional authorization were designed for weaker adversaries. This piece argues that those tests fail against similarly armed competitors, where even limited strikes risk significant escalation, potentially triggering a constitutional crisis over who has the authority to respond.

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its successor, the WTO, was formed to reduce trade barriers between nations.

Congress has unsuccessfully voted on war powers resolutions over Trump's military operations in Venezuela and Iran

After Trump ordered unilateral military operations in both Venezuela and Iran without congressional authorization, lawmakers from both parties introduced war powers resolutions to block further action. Each effort failed, with Republican majorities largely supporting the president.

Countries with either very low or very high religious diversity tend to be more peaceful

Research found a correlation between a country's relative stability and whether it has either very low or very high levels of religious diversity. Countries in the middle range—with moderate diversity and active competition between groups—show higher levels of conflict.

The Concert of Europe was an earlier attempt to manage great power relations through shared rules

After the Napoleonic wars, European powers established a system of regular consultation to manage conflicts and maintain the balance of power. It offered relative stability for nearly a century before deteriorating.

Could water scarcity cause future wars in the Middle East?

The MENA region is facing a looming water crisis that could lead to future conflicts. While water scarcity isn't new in the Middle East, the region is among the most water scarce in the world. Home to only 1% of the world's fresh water...

The Non‑Proliferation Treaty was designed to prevent new states from developing nuclear bombs

The Treaty on the Non‑Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (created in 1968, effective 1970) binds non-nuclear states to forgo nuclear weapons and commits nuclear powers to share peaceful technology and pursue disarmament—forming the core of the global non-proliferation regime.

Israel’s swift victory in the Six-Day War redrew the map of the Middle East

Learn more about the June 1967 conflict which shifted territorial lines across Israel and its neighbors—Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq—reshaping the Middle East’s political landscape with long-lasting geopolitical ramifications.

European leaders pursued appeasement of Hitler in the 1930s, hoping to avoid war.

Is there an arms race in the Middle East?

In 2021, countries in the Middle East spent $168 billion on weapons. Defense spending in the Middle East has been falling in the last few years, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that the region is de-militarizing. In 2021, Saudi Arabia spent $55...

The Middle East's cold war, explained

The Middle East is one of the most complex regions in the world, including a complicated web of conflicts and actors. Two countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran, have torn apart the region by supporting opposing sides in other countries and indirectly...

The UN’s 1990s peacekeeping mission in Rwanda failed to prevent a genocide

During a 100-day period in 1994, nearly 1 million Tutsi and moderate Hutu civilians were murdered, a tragedy that exemplified the limitations of the UN’s ability to protect populations from mass killing.

Hear how the US and Iran went from close allies to bitter adversaries after the 1979 revolution.

The 1967 war was the first use of oil as a geopolitical weapon

Following the June 1967 Arab–Israeli war, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Libya, and Algeria embargoed oil shipments to the US, UK, and West Germany. While the move did not have a large impact, it reshaped global oil flows, and foreshadowed OAPEC's later actions.

Lessons from the 1973 energy crisis still echo in today’s geopolitical battles over oil

The video from the Economist highlights how energy supply disruptions can be weaponized—just as in 1973, today’s gas cutoffs (Russia throttling supplies to Europe after their invasion of Ukraine) reveal the ongoing importance of strategic energy resilience.

The final war between the Persian and Byzantine empires

The Arab conquests of the seventh century, which swept over Egypt, Syria, and Mesopotamia, were made possible by a catastrophic generation-long war between the Byzantine and Persian Empires. That war, in turn, was the last act in a struggle that had gone on for centuries, and shaped the whole subsequent history of the Middle East.

A report found that the 2026 Iran war is the largest oil supply disruption in history.

The US and the USSR backed opposing sides in dozens of proxy wars during the Cold War

To avoid direct confrontation, the superpowers supported rival factions in conflicts around the world—including in Korea, Vietnam, Angola, and Afghanistan.

An interactive visualization tracking 25 years of US-North Korea nuclear negotiations

From 1990 to 2017, the United States and North Korea engaged in a complex series of bilateral and multilateral negotiations. This interactive page, compiled by CSIS Beyond Parallel, displays a record of provocations and negotiations between the two...

See how global nuclear arsenals surged—then shrank—by country since 1945

Worldwide nuclear stockpiles peaked at over 60,000 warheads in the mid‑1980s during the US-Soviet arms race. Today, about nine nations collectively maintain roughly 12,000 warheads, with Russia and the US still holding the majority.