From Eastern Europe to the Middle East, from Venezuela to forgotten Africa, current conflicts reveal a planet where the authority of the international order is increasingly contested, with states openly competing while new hotbeds of violence threaten to spread.

The year 2026 exposes deep fractures in the global geopolitical architecture. The war in Ukraine is no longer just an East-West confrontation : it symbolizes the end of a stable European order. The humanitarian tragedy in the Middle East continues to spread, and the US intervention in Venezuela raises questions about the sustainability of international law. In this fractured world, diplomacy is being put to the test, and every crisis becomes a test for the entire world.

 

Ongoing conflicts

 

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the conflict has entered its fifth year with no clear prospects for peace. According to a recent study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), nearly 2 million military personnel were killed, wounded, or missing on both sides between 2022 and the end of 2025, a human toll that no major power has seen since World War II.

 

Civilians are also paying a heavy price : 2025 was the “deadliest” year for non-combatants since the invasion began, with more than 2,500 civilians killed and more than 12,000 wounded, according to the UN.

 

This war is profoundly transforming Europe: diplomatic negotiations, such as those recently observed in Abu Dhabi, revolve around the territorial issue, reflecting a stalemate between Moscow and Kiev, under ever-increasing pressure from the US and Europe.

 

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been dramatically reignited since the attack on October 7, 2023, has caused an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. Official Palestinian sources estimate that more than 70,000 people have been killed, including at least 18,000 children, with more than 171,000 wounded, not counting the tens of thousands of indirect victims. Demographic studies suggest that the actual death toll could be well over 100,000, reflecting a dramatic decline in life expectancy and massive destruction of infrastructure.

 

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