Global war: a world gripped by conflict

On Friday, a suicide bomb killed 41 people as they worshipped at a mosque. The day before, news came that two British soldiers had been killed in a gunfight. With an ever growing body count, bad news comes from AfghanistanA mountainous Asian country, slightly larger than France, whose neighbours include Pakistan, Iran and China. on a weekly basis. Now, it seems the bloodshed may have been in vain. Last week, a group of British MPsMembers of Parliament. MPs are elected to represent people in 650 different geographical areas.  announced that achieving the war's aim of creating a "viable state" in Afghanistan may be impossible. Despite a UK investment of 20bn and the death of 435 British troops, the country is now mired in unrest and instability. The invasion of Afghanistan, as IraqA country in the Middle East with a population of 43.5m. , has been replaced by another war: a violent insurgency of radical Islamist groups that desire power in the country. The bloodshed represents a tiny slice of global war. Experts estimate there are 388 violent conflicts in the world today, and though only a few of those are defined as actual wars, the number has peaked sharply: from six in 2010 to 20 the year after. Few of the disputes are between nations. Today's bloodiest conflict is in Syria, where rebel groups fighting for democracy are clashing with an authoritarianEnforcing strict obedience to authority. government desperate to keep power. SudanA country in northeast Africa with a population of 45 million. recently split into two nations, and both are fighting over which owns an oil rich area of land. North Pakistan, meanwhile, is being torn apart by Islamist groups that want to enforce a religious regime. In Mexico, the cause for war is drugs. Cocaine-trading cartels battle to control regions of the country, and the government, in a desperate attempt to control illegal substances, has been drawn into the fray. Some 80,000 troops and 4.5% of Mexico's economic output has been thrown at this real-life "war on drugsA phrase first popularised by US President Richard Nixon in 1971. Nixon called drugs ‘America’s public enemy number one’ and called for ‘a new, all-out offensive’. But the USA is not alone in its hardline stance on drug use.", but kidnappings and gun battles are common, and the violence has claimed over 3,800 lives this year alone. Is this a war? Experts say yes: both the cartels and the government are organised groups, and are fighting over power and control of territory. These disparate conflicts, with complex, constantly-changing actors and goals, reflect the majority of wars in the world today. Are we heading to a more warlike world? Many think so. Modern culture clashes violently with older ideologies, powers battle for increasingly scarce resources like oil, and changing technology invents ever more effective ways for people to kill each other. "Progress", it seems, will mean more conflict, not less. Others, however, are more optimistic. As technology, democracy and economic progress spread around the world, they say, causes for war like scarcity, ignorance and greed for power will diminish. Today, peace is a valued goal: it seems increasingly likely that the human race might have the means to achieve it. Word Watch Viable state: This refers to the idea of setting up a coherent democratic government across the whole of Afghanistan. Instead of focussing on this goal, MPs say, the international forces in the country should work towards building infrastructure and institutions that can improve quality of life, especially for the women in Afghanistan. Islamist groups: Groups affiliated with the Taliban control large swathes of North West Pakistan, in areas like the Swat Valley. They enforce a strict interpretation of Islam, which rests on Sharia (Islamic law) and seriously restricts the rights of women and girls. Pakistan's government is working to prevent these groups maintaining power using bombings and drones, but the groups are fighting back with guerilla fighting techniques. Sudan: The North of Sudan, today referred to as Sudan, split from South Sudan in 2011. The government of the country was based in Khartoum, in the North, and many southerners, who are mostly Christian or follow tribal religions, felt discriminated against by the more powerful Muslim part of the country. The split was a time of great hope for South Sudan, but progress has been slow and the two countries are still mired in military conflict. War on Drugs: The 'War on Drugs' is the name for a long-running US campaign against the drugs trade. In the USA, that means enforcing prohibition through arresting and imprisoning drug dealers, and controlling narcotics. To support that, the American government has given aid and military backup to countries all over the world, including Mexico and Columbia. Q & A Will I ever have to go to war? If you are a citizen of a nation with a military draft and your country becomes involved in a war, you may be called up to fight. But it is probably becoming less likely that you will actually have to take up arms: technology such as aircraft, smart bombs and now drones has diminished the role of ordinary soldiers, so that wars are increasingly fought by expertly trained professionals, often from afar. So I don't need to worry then? Not so fast. In most wars, over half of the casualties are civilian - in the Israel-Palestine conflict, for instance, the figure is roughly three quarters. And while new technologies take you further from the front line, they also give generals huge destructive power.KeywordsAfghanistan - A mountainous Asian country, slightly larger than France, whose neighbours include Pakistan, Iran and China.