Early release of The Shrinking Costs of War Part II of the Human Security Report 2009 (Forthcoming)
The Shrinking Costs of War reveals that nationwide death rates actually fall during the course of most of today’s armed conflicts.
The study argues that wartime mortality, from disease and malnutrition, as well as war-inflicted injuries, has been driven downwards by:
Significant changes in the nature of warfare––evident in the 70 percent decline in the number of high-intensity conflicts since the end of the Cold War.
More than 30 years of highly effective health interventions in poor countries in peacetime––which have cut death tolls from disease during wartime.
A dramatic increase in the level and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance to people in war zones.
The Shrinking Costs of War also provides the most comprehensive analysis to date of the claim that 5.4 million people have died because of the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It demonstrates that the true death toll is far smaller.
An ongoing controversy over global war death estimates moved to a new level this month with the release of a new study by researchers at the Human Security Report Project, the University of London, and Uppsala University’s Conflict Data Program.
The BMJ press release promoting the Obermeyer et al article stated that, “Globally, war has killed three times more people than previously estimated, and there is no evidence to support claims of a recent decline in war deaths.” But the new JCR study argues that the authors of the BMJ article fail to prove either claim and that their article contains many methodological and factual errors.
The Human Security Report Project released the first issue of the Pakistan Conflict Monitor today.
The new Monitor will provide daily updates on the incidence of political violence in Pakistan, analysis of its causes and impact on the wider region. Related issues, such as health, development, displacement, governance, gender, small arms, landmines, human rights, peacemaking, and transitional justice are also covered.
The Pakistan Conflict Monitor is available online at www.pakistanconflictmonitor.org. Daily updates are available by email or RSS.
Oct 9, 2008 - miniAtlas of Human Security
Produced by the Human Security Report Project and the World Bank, this at-a-glance guide to global security issues provides a wealth of information on armed conflicts since 1946. It maps political violence, the links between poverty and conflict, assaults on human rights - including the use of child soldiers - and the causes of war and peace.
Specially designed to show detailed information on a small scale, the miniAtlas of Human Security is a succinct introduction to today's most pressing security challenges.
Challenging the expert consensus that the threat of global terrorism is increasing, the Human Security Brief 2007 reveals a sharp net decline in the incidence of terrorist violence around the world.
Fatalities from terrorism have declined by some 40 percent, while the loose-knit terror network associated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda has suffered a dramatic collapse in popular support throughout the Muslim world.
The Brief also describes and analyses the extraordinary, but largely unnoticed, positive change in sub-Saharan Africa's security landscape. The number of conflicts being waged in the region more than halved between 1999 and 2006; the combat toll dropped by 98 percent.
Finally, the Brief updates the findings of the 2005 Human Security Report, and demonstrates that the decline in the total number of armed conflicts and combat deaths around the world has continued. The number of military coups has also continued decline, as have the number of campaigns of deadly violence waged against civilians.
The Human Security Brief 2006 updates the 2005 Human Security Report's conflict trend data and analyzes the findings of two recently released datasets that track trends in war terminations and organized violence against civilians. The new data indicate that the post-Cold War decline in armed conflicts and related fatalities reported last year has continued, with Sub-Saharan Africa seeing the greatest decrease in political violence.
The first Human Security Report documents a dramatic, but largely unknown, decline in the number of wars, genocides and human rights abuse over the past decade. Published by Oxford University Press, the Report argues that the single most compelling explanation for these changes is found in the unprecedented upsurge of international activism, spearheaded by the UN, which took place in the wake of the Cold War.
The Human Security Report Project released the first issue of the Pakistan Conflict Monitor today.
