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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Scientist makes bold prediction that war is on the wane
2012-11-25
It may be difficult to believe, but according to research published next month a world without war may be getting nearer.

Futurologists from the University of Oslo in Norway and the Peace Research Institute Oslo have predicted that global conflict will halve in the next 40 years.

Their study claims the combination of higher education, lower infant mortality, smaller youth cohorts, and lower population growth are a few of the reasons why the world can expect a more peaceful future.

That will mean in the next five years the current conflicts in Libya, Tajikistan, Syria, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Iraq will probably be over, the research suggests.

As the risk of war decreases worldwide, by 2017 it will be greatest in India, Ethiopia, the Philippines, Uganda and Burma.

And by 2050, as the number of countries at war falls from one in six to one in 12, the risk of conflict will be greatest in India, Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia and Tanzania

The conclusions were made by HÃ¥vard Hegre, a professor in the university's department of political science, who has devised a statistical model in collaboration with Oslo's Peace Research Institute.

The model, it is claimed, is capable of telling us what is likely to happen in the future.

'The number of conflicts is falling,' said Professor Hegre. 'We expect this fall to continue. We predict a steady fall in the number of conflicts in the next 40 years.

'Conflicts that involve a high degree of violence, such as Syria, are becoming increasingly rare.

'We put a lot of work into developing statistical methods that enable us, with a reasonable degree of certainty, to predict conflicts in the future.

'A conflict is defined as a conflict between governments and political organisations that use violence and in which at least 25 people die. This means that the model does not cover either tribal wars or solo terrorists like Anders Behring Breivik.

'In the 1700s it was normal to go to war to expand your country's territory. This strategy has passed its sell by date. But, demands for democracy may be suppressed with violence and result in more violence in the short term. As in Libya.'

His research has found there has been a decrease in armed conflicts and the number of people killed since World War II and this trend will continue.

'War has become less acceptable, just like duelling, torture and the death penalty.'

Infant mortality, calculated by the UN up to 2050, is one of the key factors in Professor Hegre's model.

'Countries with a high infant mortality rate have a high probability of conflict. Infant mortality is now decreasing everywhere.'

The UN has also estimated population structure up to 2050. The population is expected to grow, but at a slower pace than today, and the proportion of young people will decrease in most countries, with the exception of countries in Africa.

The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna has extrapolated the level of education up to 2050.

The simulation model is also based on the last 40 years' history of conflicts, of all countries and their neighbours in the world, oil resources and ethnicity. The conflict data were collated by the Uppsala University

'Economic changes in society have resulted in both education and human capital becoming important. A complex economy makes political violence less attractive.

Posted by:Au Auric

#17  I will agree that war will end soon - but only if the Mayan calendar people are right. War will exist until man dies out; it's in our DNA.
Posted by: Glenmore   2012-11-25 21:21  

#16  And there's the one little catch about being an 'island nation' - at some point there is no where else to go, and your beaches are being stormed.
Posted by: Pappy   2012-11-25 19:47  

#15  I know Barbara, the temptation is there (I know I've said it many a time). But the last couple times we withdrew from the world two world wars erupted. With the EU crumbling, debt everywhere and no stabilizing influence, another Hitler or Stalin WILL show up on the world stage. We've been down this road before and it is covered with hundreds of thousands of dead Americans and millions of dead people around the world.
Posted by: DarthVader   2012-11-25 18:28  

#14  Like battle plans no prediction survives initial contact.
Posted by: JimK   2012-11-25 17:36  

#13  "If the US continues to withdraw, or has Zero bumble more policy then more conflicts will erupt. Add global economic collapse and the shortage of food, medicine and goods and the amount of conflict will skyrocket."

Works for me, Darth. The "world" has been complaining about the U.S. for decades (while taking our money); let 'em find out (again) what the world is like without Pax Americana. >:-(
Posted by: Barbara   2012-11-25 16:59  

#12  Actually Raider, the data has validity. The amount of conflicts has been going down over the years. Internal state kills have been about the same, but armies going at each other has been going down. I would argue that the collapse of the Soviet Union and the stabilizing presence of the US has helped tremendously.

Now that the US is starting to retreat from the world stage, the "hot spots" that have been simmering for decades are starting to come alive again. If the US continues to withdraw, or has Zero bumble more policy then more conflicts will erupt. Add global economic collapse and the shortage of food, medicine and goods and the amount of conflict will skyrocket.
Posted by: DarthVader   2012-11-25 13:42  

#11  these people are living in a bubble.
I suggest that they move their investigation team to some cozy "failed state" in the third world. then give the research another go. :-)
Posted by: Raider   2012-11-25 12:16  

#10  Mods should add the Pollyanna pic to complement the confidence meter.
Posted by: PBMcL   2012-11-25 10:34  

#9  If you bought the statistical analysis of The Population Bomb, a book written by Stanford University Professor Paul R. Ehrlich, we'd all be living from one starvation to another on this planet by now.

Even after the apogee of the Roman Empire things didn't disintegrate immediately. The core of the empire still had a good 'peaceful' period, before the rumblings along the borders made themselves known outside the walls. If you were a patrician inside those walls, the world looked certainly more civil than during the time Hannibal was running rampant throughout Italy. It'd be a few more decades later that it would be Vandals instead.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2012-11-25 09:50  

#8  Got that 1938 feelin' all over.
Posted by: no mo uro   2012-11-25 09:28  

#7  The thing that irks me the most about this type of BS is that I know better. With degrees in Political "Science" (I know, consider my curriculum choices as a casualty of Vietnam) and Computers with 30+ years of experience, much of it in modelling, GIGO!!

There is no way any model truly works given the quality of input that this shite (and AGCC) gets.

Figures don't lie, liars figure.
Posted by: AlanC   2012-11-25 09:22  

#6  Good idea Darth. They should print that prediction on toilet paper. AH, Capitalism. Call it operation clean sweep.
Posted by: Dale   2012-11-25 07:50  

#5  Until such statistical models demonstrate the capacity to accurately predict the past, I have no confidence that they can predict the future. The same claims were/are made for global warming, after all.
Posted by: trailing wife   2012-11-25 06:09  

#4  Will the JudeoChristian US-West includ Russia accept on par a large number of Islamic nuclear powers???

OTHER > IIRC TOPIX, WORLD NEWS = MARITIME DISPUTES IN EAST ASIA RUN DEEPER THAN ECONOMICS.

"Manifest Destiny", territorial claims, and historical ethno-political rivalries.

In the 5000 years of recorded/known human history, Mankind has known only a few years of peace.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2012-11-25 02:41  

#3  They probably said the exact same thing during the fading years of the Roman Empire. "People are so 'enlightened' now that war is no needed.".

We saw how that ended.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2012-11-25 02:40  

#2  "Scientists"?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2012-11-25 02:20  

#1  I would agree... if everything stays on the current trend.

However, if the world economy collapses I predict that these scientists prediction will go right down the toilet.
Posted by: DarthVader   2012-11-25 00:52  

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