Global Peace Index 2023: “a deterioration of peace globally”
Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine was a major cause contributing to a deterioration of peace globally. This is the conclusion of Institute for Economics and Peace's Global Peace Index 2023 published Wednesday.
The European continent would be less peaceful today than 15 years ago. The 17th edition of the index reveals that the average level of global peace has worsened for the ninth consecutive year. 84 countries recorded an improvement, while 79 recorded a worsening.
Both Russia and Ukraine have been ranked among the least peaceful countries in the world. The invaded country would have fallen 14 places to 157th place with a decline of 13% – the worst rate of the entire annual index.
The worst data was recorded for the sixth consecutive year by Afghanistan, followed by Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
While they would fare better in Iceland. The country, in fact, is at the top of the rankings, a position it has held for 16 years. Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and Austria follow closely behind.
The global distribution of conflicts has changed. Major conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and South Asia have diminished, while those in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the Asia-Pacific have intensified. The European continent has seen the greatest deterioration of peace in the world.
Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of the IEP, said: “The 2023 Global Peace Index highlights the contrasting dynamics of militarization and conflict. On the one hand, most countries are decreasing their dependence on the army, while on the other, a growing number of conflicts are becoming internationalised”.
According to Killelea, the fact that wars are almost “impossible to win” nowadays it would lead to a stagnation of peace processes. “Bashar is still in power. Today there is Ukraine. Which is practically at a standstill. And then other conflicts such as Yemen, which have been raging for almost a decade. I think we need to start thinking about new ways that lead to peace.", he added.
Europe is still the most peaceful region in the world, even though military spending and relations with neighboring countries have deteriorated due to the war in Ukraine. The region is still home to seven of the ten most peaceful countries, while the level of violent demonstrations, protests and unrest remains high. The other three most peaceful countries are located in the Asia-Pacific region.
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