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IEP - Record Conflicts Drive Peace to Historic Low as AI Warfare Surges
The index found 119 countries less peaceful than in 2007 as armed conflict, drone warfare and military spending push violence costs to $21.81 trillion.
- On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, the Institute for Economics & Peace released the 2026 Global Peace Index, revealing global peacefulness deteriorated for the 12th consecutive year with active state-based conflicts reaching 61, the highest since World War II.
- This decline stems from a structural transformation termed the "Great Fragmentation," where rising middle powers fill vacuums left by declining traditional states; Europe's economic share has fallen sharply since 1995.
- Drone attacks rose by over 11,500% between 2018 and 2025 as AI-generated targeting compressed human review times to seconds, raising concerns about erosion of meaningful human oversight in lethal decision-making.
- The global economic impact of violence reached a record US$21.81 trillion in 2025, equivalent to 10.5% of global GDP, while over 181,000 conflict deaths were recorded—a six-fold increase since 2008.
- Steve Killelea, Founder & Executive Chairman of IEP, warned that institutions of peace are being outpaced by rapid geopolitical and technological changes, cautioning "the humanitarian consequences are considerable" across South Asia.
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49 Articles
Currently, 61 conflicts between states are raging, the highest number since the end of World War II, according to the annual Global Peace Index.
·Netherlands (Kingdom of the)
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The Conway Daily Sun+44 Reposted by 44 other sources
IEP - Record Conflicts Drive Peace to Historic Low as AI warfare surges
LONDON, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2026 Global Peace Index (GPI), released today by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), reveals a world struggling with the economic consequences of a record-high number of conflicts that are increasingly interconnected…
Coverage Details
Total News Sources49
Leaning Left5Leaning Right8Center18Last UpdatedBias Distribution58% Center
Bias Distribution
- 58% of the sources are Center
58% Center
L 16%
C 58%
R 26%
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