16 July
2026
The International
Order
People often express nostalgia for the "good old days," when there were the United Nations, international law, and similar institutions. But I would ask: when have these institutions ever actually succeeded in preventing wars and the world's great tragedies?
The Third World War did not occur because of nuclear weapons, not because of the United Nations.
I do not believe that today's world is uniquely tragic, as is often claimed. Wars have continued ever since 1945, causing millions of deaths. Our perception is also shaped by the amount of attention that the mass media give to particular conflicts.
I believe that the deadliest war since 1945 was the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo following the fall of Mobutu, which may have claimed around five million lives. Yet today, most people remember it only vaguely.