Non-State Conflicts: Trends from 1989 to 2018

2017 and 2018 saw the highest number of active non-state conflicts since the end of the Cold War. Simultaneously, there has been a substantial increase in the number of non-state conflict casualties worldwide since 2014. This trend is driven primarily by the conflict in Syria involving the Islamic State. The rapid growth in the number and severity of non-state conflicts increasingly threatens the UN SDGs’ aim of promoting peaceful and inclusive societies.