how many armed conflicts is the us involved in 2017

In the 1950s, less than 30% of the world lived in a city: today, the proportion is over 55%. The reason is obvious: the world is undergoing a process of hyper-urbanization. Most forms of contemporary organized violence are concentrating in urban areas. Notwithstanding debates over what counts as a conflict- or terrorist-related death, the biggest killer of all is intentionally homicide: 385,000 victims in 2016, slightly higher than the 375,000 murders in 2014.

This compares to an estimated 34,000 deaths terrorist-related killings in 2016 in contrast to over 43,000 in 2014. According to one estimate, at least 99,000 people died violently in armed conflicts in 2016 (the most recent year for which data is available), a significant decline from the estimated 143,000 people killed in 2014. It is difficult, then, to appreciate the full scale of violent deaths around the world, much less in cities. In some of the most conflict-, terrorist- and crime-prone countries and cities, there may be no data collection systems in place at all. Part of the problem is that there are few people or institutions actually keeping track of the dead.

While a proper accounting of the human toll of organized violence is critical to achieving justice and stability, it is a tricky endeavor. Paraphrasing the Greek dramatist Aeschylus, in war, terrorism and crime, truth is the first casualty. Originally published on the Small Wars Journal The Tricky Business of Counting the Costs of Armed Conflict in Cities

How many armed conflicts is the us involved in 2017