The conflict has not stopped and is still occurring.
A history of ongoing conflict and strife around the world
The hottest world history story that helps you understand modern human history!

In January 2024, the Doomsday Clock, which warns of Earth's destruction, was announced with only 90 seconds left until midnight, the time set for Earth's destruction.
The second hand, which had been set to '100 seconds before midnight' since 2020, has been moved forward by 10 seconds.
This stemmed from Russia's threat to use nuclear weapons after invading Ukraine.
As the various crises and threats surrounding humanity grow, the second hand of this clock, which approaches midnight, warns of the destruction of humanity due to conflict and strife rather than the destruction of the entire planet.
Even now, sharp conflicts are breaking out all over the world due to complexly intertwined interests over resources and territory, historical conflicts between nations and peoples, and religious and cultural differences.
And because these conflicts are not limited to the individual countries, but have direct and indirect effects on all of humanity, understanding each conflict is tantamount to knowing our future.
This book provides a thorough understanding of the flow and links of modern history that have shaped today's world through the historical perspectives and origins behind the conflict.
As global citizens, I hope we can understand world history through these 13 defining conflicts that we must all understand, and further explore and collectively consider solutions for a peaceful world.

The reason the Kurds, a nation with a population of over 10 million, cannot achieve independence is because all surrounding countries oppose their independence.
Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and even Syria are blatantly blocking Kurdish independence because if they become independent, the Kurds' enormous economic resources will disappear and their country's territory will be reduced.
Iran, in particular, does not want Kurdish independence because some of its oil resources are located in Kurdish-inhabited areas.
When the Islamic Revolution led by Khomeini took place in Iran in 1979, the Kurds suffered great disaster.
Iran is Shiite, as mentioned in the Syrian civil war, while the Kurds are Sunni.
The revolutionary army attacked Kurds in western Iran, killing over 10,000 people and summarily executing thousands more without trial.
Although currently a minority, people of Kurdish origin have also entered the ranks of influential figures in Iranian politics.
However, the Iranian government still allows autonomy but strongly suppresses separatist movements.

---「Chapter 3.
Among the Kurds who are fighting for independence in the face of opposition from neighboring countries,

Meanwhile, Serbia, a Slavic nation, calls Kosovo the "heart of Serbia" and makes it clear that it is a region it can never give up, and even though 15 years have passed since Kosovo gained independence in 2023, it still calls it the "Autonomous Province of Kosovo-Metohija."
So why do Serbs call Kosovo the "heart of Serbia"? Serbs settled in the northern Balkans in the 6th century and established the Serbian Empire centered around the fertile Kosovo Plain.
Kosovo was the empire's political, economic, and religious center.
However, in 1389, more than 100,000 Serbs lost their lives in the Battle of the Plains of the Black Bird, a defeat for the Ottoman Empire.
The Serbs who lost the war were driven north, and the areas where the Serbs lived were settled by large numbers of Albanians who believed in Islam.
Serbia still celebrates the day the war broke out as an important national religious holiday, called "Saint Vitus Day."
The Serbian Orthodox Church commemorates this day in memory of Saint Prince Lazar and the holy martyrs of Serbia who died in battles against the Ottoman Empire.
However, for Serbia, it is absolutely unacceptable that Kosovo will become another country.

---「Chapter 5.
From “The Kosovo War: A Tragic Ethnic Cleansing Caused by Religious Conflict”

Ukraine eventually falls to the level of one of the poorest countries in Europe, with inflation exceeding 10,000% and prices skyrocketing.
When North Korea tried to sell nuclear weapons to other countries because it lacked the ability to maintain or manage nuclear warheads, the United States and Russia put the brakes on it.
Eventually, under strong urging from major powers, it was decided to abandon nuclear weapons.
To this end, in 1994, the Budapest Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the participation of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia, along with Belarus and Kazakhstan, which were in the same situation as Ukraine.
Instead of handing over all of its nuclear weapons to Russia, it agreed to receive $200 million in compensation from the United States, calculated at $1 million per nuclear weapon.
After dismantling its nuclear weapons, Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, and borders would be guaranteed, and it would not be subject to nuclear attack from the United States, the United Kingdom, or Russia. It also promised that if a security threat were to arise, the signatory countries would have to consult with each other.
In this light, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 could be seen as an act that completely reduced the Budapest Memorandum to scrap paper.
---「Chapter 6.
From "Ukraine, Europe's granary shedding tears at the Russian invasion"

Myanmar was in a state of great social instability due to ethnic minorities each pursuing separatism and forming armed forces.
In 1962, General Ne Win established a dictatorship and suppressed opposition to the regime, maintaining a political climate that was as tense as thin ice.
Martial law was declared and a coercive military dictatorship was established, and the Burma Socialist Platform Party, founded by the military group, maintained power for 26 years until 1988.
As public discontent with military rule grew, the nationwide 888 Uprising broke out in August 1988, but the military continued to suppress the resistance forces and maintain its iron-fisted rule.
And they cleverly turned the public's criticism of the military onto the Rohingya.
By reminding people that the Rohingya were a corrupt force that cooperated with colonial rule and lived off the colonial regime, they drove public opinion to discriminate against and persecute the Rohingya, who practice Islam rather than Buddhism.
Moreover, the Rohingya were excluded from a law that governed citizenship for Myanmar's 135 ethnic minorities, which came into effect in 1982.
This is because the citizenship law revised by the military government recognizes only those who have resided in Myanmar since before the First Anglo-Burmese War as ethnic minorities.
---「Chapter 10.
From "Myanmar's merciless oppression of the Rohingya"

The period after 2010 is called the 'New Cold War era'.
Because the United States, Japan, and the European Union are joining hands to confront Russia and China.
In this new Cold War era, if Japan joins forces with the United States to defend the Senkaku Islands, what diplomatic measures will China take? Naturally, it will align with Russia.
China has bought most of Russia's oil and natural gas, which was blocked from exporting to Europe due to the war in Ukraine.
And under the pretext of avoiding a typhoon, they allowed Russian naval warships to enter the Senkaku Islands.
Afterwards, China's naval vessels also entered the Senkaku Islands, claiming to monitor Russian warships, so Japan cannot help but be surprised.
The ongoing dispute surrounding the Senkaku Islands is raising high tensions, with the possibility of it escalating into a major war in the new Cold War era.

---「Chapter 12.
From "Disputes Surrounding the Sea: China and Japan Across the Senkaku Islands"