The year of 2025 has been marked with an increase of major armed conflicts around the world. This year has seen a record number of conflicts in various regions since World War II. These armed conflicts have caused an increased global instability.
The key ongoing and new conflicts this year have been centred in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar. Besides, India-Pakistan tensions are heightened due to the Kashmir issue.
The Russia-Ukraine war has entered its fourth year. Despite ongoing discussions on a proposal by US President Donald Trump to end the war, Russia has intensified its ground attacks in Ukraine.
The US struck Iran’s nuclear facilities this year, adding a new dimension to the Israel-Iran conflict. The US continues to attack Venezuelan ships. Meanwhile, the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has reached a ceasefire, but the bloodshed has yet to be stopped.
Long-standing tensions led to a series of brief skirmishes in the middle of the year, with intense clashes between India and Pakistan in May, Iran and Israel in June, and Cambodia and Thailand in July. After a ceasefire, bloody clashes between the two countries broke out again towards the end of the year in December.
Bangladesh, Armenia, Bulgaria, DR Congo, Ecuador, France, Georgia, Germany, Haiti, Peru, Somalia, and South Korea were also plagued by internal crises this year. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office through arrest and impeachment.
The world witnessed the protests in some countries led by Gen-Z this year.
Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was forced to step down in the face of Gen-Z protests. Gen-Z-led protesters were also seen staging protests in Algeria, Bulgaria and several other countries. In addition to Nepal, government has fallen in Madagascar.
Military coups have taken place in several African countries. New leaders have come to power in many countries, including the United States, Canada, and Germany. Japan and Namibia have elected their first female heads of government.
Donald Trump has taken power in the United States for the second time. In the first 100 days of his return to power, Trump has shaken the world with one measure after another. He kept most of the nations busy by imposing high tariffs and removing tariffs in several rounds.
Trump has created widespread instability and turmoil in the global economy and business by imposing various types of retaliatory tariffs on most countries. This has sparked a new trade war between the world’s two top economies, China and the United States.
The US-China trade war shows no signs of ending even as the year draws to a close. In terms of technology, DeepSeek, a Chinese competitor to US chatbot ChatGTP, has made a splash around the world this year.
