The 2026 Global Peace Index, released by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), reveals a world struggling with the economic consequences of a record-high number of wars (“conflicts”) that are increasingly interconnected and difficult to resolve.

This deterioration is driven by a profound geopolitical shift, characterised by the rising influence of middle powers and the waning strength of traditional European powers known as the “Great Fragmentation.” This is also accompanied by a rapid technological revolution in warfare that is leaving international law and diplomacy far behind.

For the first time in history, The Peace Party is coming to realise that machines are making life-and-death combat decisions faster than any human can review them, and the international frameworks meant to govern them barely exist.