Today, we believe we live in a time of peace because the number of deaths from war and violence has decreased, but technological advances and increased interdependence between nations have created new forms of threats. Can we really call this a state of peace?
Most people today do not fear that they will be slaughtered for no reason tomorrow, nor do they fear that war will break out and they will lose everything. They can walk over mountains without worrying that a band of marauders will appear to raid the property of the wealthy. We don’t want a war or a big revolution to overturn society, we want things to be done without bloodshed. We are educated and conscious. Modern society has become so interconnected that it is called the “global village,” and what affects one country affects others in a chain reaction. Trade and diplomacy have strengthened the connections between countries. Even countries that are not physically close to each other, and even countries that are not ideologically aligned, have become inseparable.
In this context, modern society faces new challenges that we have not experienced in previous eras. In particular, new types of threats that have emerged with the advancement of technology are affecting our lives in different ways than in the past. For example, the development of the Internet has dramatically accelerated the flow of information, making it more likely that we will experience war not just physically, but also in cyberspace. Invisible wars such as hacking, cyberterrorism, and information manipulation have brought new fears to our society. These threats are amplifying conflicts between nations, sometimes with greater destructive power than traditional wars.
Some call this an era of peace. Others say we are living in an era of true peace, not just peace. This is true peace not only because the number of people killed in wars and violence has decreased, but also because most societies find war unacceptable. Of course, according to some organizations’ figures, the death rate from violence and war has decreased significantly, and in many cases, it’s the people themselves who are killing people. They also point out that as countries have become more interconnected, there is less profit in war, and as countries lose their independence, they are less likely to go to war. But are fewer conflicts between nations and fewer deaths from war and violence an indicator of peace? Is what we don’t recognize as peace only because we don’t think about the lives of people in the past? Does increased connectivity between countries really only lead to peace?
It’s hard to say. When people were hunters, when agriculture began, and when the Internet appeared after the Industrial Revolution, life changed to such an extent that it became meaningless to consider the past. The Cognitive Revolution allowed humans to develop consciousness and create an imaginary order. Since then, we have continued to create new imaginary orders, accumulate new kinds of knowledge, and develop new technologies. The result is a different consciousness and a different way of life than in the past. However, some people do not define peace as it was in the past, but simply compare it based on the number of deaths caused by war and violence. This ignores the damage that doesn’t show up as casualties, and it ignores the damage that may yet come. Of course, on a conscious level, in the modern era, not only intellectuals but also the general public support peace. People see war as something to be denied, not a necessary evil, which is a big difference from the past, and as a result, we haven’t seen a full-scale war between states using weapons since 1945. Even when the great imperialist powers of Britain and France dismantled their empires, there were fewer wars than in the past. Unfortunately, while Russia’s war with Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas are ongoing, the overall number of wars around the world, even including civil wars and coups, has declined.
But fewer all-out wars with weapons doesn’t mean peace. Weapons have evolved from stone and wood in prehistoric times to spears and bows, to iron with the discovery of iron, and finally to guns and cannons. Throughout the Scientific Revolution, humans have made amazing discoveries, we’ve created the nucleus, and we’ve developed biological and chemical weapons. We’re just not using them, and the internet, which surrounds our lives, can be used to do harm. The creation of the global village has put countries in a unique situation where they have more power over each other politically and economically, and they have more power to use it to pressure each other. Retaliatory trade against other countries is more damaging because they are more dependent on them. They can also use hacking, viruses, and cyberterrorism to cripple their opponents’ computing networks. These are new forms of weaponry. No longer can damage be measured solely by the presence of visible casualties, and these threats envelope our lives as much as the threat of war and the threat of violence in the past. These weapons are now used in secret, and when they explode, the damage is not easily predictable. If we don’t feel fear or worry, it’s only because we’ve gotten used to these events, because they happen so often around the world.
Estonia, a country in conflict since its independence from Russia in 2007, suffered a DDoS attack by Russia that paralyzed the country’s computer network for several days. Around 2010, the United States used malware called Stuxnet to damage Iran’s nuclear facilities, which run centrifuges to enrich uranium, while making it difficult to determine the source of the failure. Terrorism using advanced technology can sneak up on you, do great damage, and then disappear. In addition, countries have capitalized on the increased interdependence between each other to increase trade restrictions, creating a trade war of sorts. The U.S. and EU do not recognize China’s market economy status and are strengthening trade barriers. Meanwhile, under the Trump administration, the U.S. and China have been engaged in a trade war, fining each other on antitrust charges and increasing trade barriers. This ripple effect is not only affecting China and the United States, but also the global economy.
In the case of nuclear weapons, which have evolved from conventional weapons, conventions and treaties are in place to control them, but that’s no guarantee. Both biological and nuclear weapons have advanced to the point where they have the power to devastate a country. Biological weapons, especially anthrax, are colorless and odorless and can be used without being identified. The Biological Weapons Convention and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty do not fully protect us. We should always be aware of the military movements of nuclear powers, especially if they don’t have nukes. If they try to attack, there is nothing we can do about it. We just take it all for granted and are used to it, which is probably why we feel less fearful and more at peace. It’s an illusion to think that the absence of war is peace.
We live in a globalized world, where countries are more interdependent and less independent. But globalization doesn’t really mean we’re pursuing common interests. It just makes us more accessible to each other. At any moment, powerful nations can undermine this network of connections and shift their posture to serve their own interests. Weaker states can also launch invisible attacks at any time to escape their status quo. What is overlooked is that even if there are no casualties, the damage can be significant on a national level. And under the protection of the Convention, we mistake the current temporary state of no casualties for peace, not terror. What we see is not everything. Just because it takes place below the surface does not negate its existence, even if we cannot see it at the moment. This is an age of fear and empowerment because we cannot prepare for threats because we cannot see them, but we must always be prepared. We are not living in a time of peace.
