Honest Truth About Peace

Peacebuilding operations are contracting while conflicts are on the rise.

Why we must rethink conflict prevention and peacebuilding in a fractured world

Wars and global defence spending are increasing, all while aid budgets, humanitarian finance and peace operations are shrinking.
Political shifts, budget pressures and governance challenges in traditional donors have made aid flows more uncertain and response slower, exacerbating the gap between early warning and action.
With old models in retreat, renewal and resilience depend on empowering local actors, embracing tactical risk-taking, leveraging technology and reframing peace as a global public good.

Global conflict is surging just as the architecture designed to prevent and resolve it falters. Research institutes recorded 61 wars in 2024, the highest since 1946. At the same time, global defence spending jumped nearly 10% to $2.7 trillion, even as aid budgets shrank.

Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows official development assistance also fell by over 7% in real terms last year and humanitarian financing experienced a “seismic contraction” of almost 10% over the same period. The paradox is stark: as conflict and fragility rise, the systems meant to respond are eroding.

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Drivers of disorder

The drivers of global disorder are familiar. Military spending has surged, conflicts are proliferating and guardrails such as arms-control treaties are crumbling. From Ukraine to the Red Sea to Taiwan, confrontation is intensifying. There is a growing sense in the West that the rules-based order is unravelling.

The race for artificial intelligence (AI) dominance and sharpening economic competition add instability, while climate threats and democratic backsliding amplify the turmoil. Global temperatures reached record highs in 2024 and democratic freedoms have declined for the 19th consecutive year. The result is more crises and fewer avenues for collective response.

Perceptions of global disruption differ by region. For many, the world feels less stable, less predictable and far more dangerous than at any point in recent memory.

In much of Asia, the mood is more calculated, sometimes optimistic. Multipolarity offers agency to Beijing, Delhi, Jakarta and Riyadh. Across the Global South, many governments are hedging, taking US security where it suits, Chinese markets where they pay and regional clubs for insurance.

Some view the current global shifts as deeply threatening, while others see them as rare openings. Crucially, more and more voices from the Global South are calling for aid and development to be reshaped from the bottom up, insisting that Southern actors themselves should play a central role in setting priorities, designing interventions, and determining how resources are allocated.

The retreat of multilateralism

The space for multilateral action is shrinking just as the UN marks its 80th anniversary with proposed reforms. Yet, momentum for more global cooperation is weak. Humanitarian appeals are perennially unmet, with less than 17% of the required $45.5 billion provided for 2025. Meanwhile, peace operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and elsewhere are closing, and the Security Council is paralyzed by vetoes.

International non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children are retrenching, squeezed by donor fatigue and compliance costs. Although the Council of Foundations found that many philanthropic groups are ramping up grant-making to meet shortfalls, others have grown more risk-averse owing to increased political attacks and compliance risks. Some boards now prefer safe projects over politically sensitive prevention or rights-based work.

A key reason is the growing unpredictability of traditional aid anchors, creating uncertainty for partners to plan long-term, leaving budgets facing competing demands and humanitarian financing often falls short. These dynamics make forward-looking investments harder to sustain, widening the gap between early warning and timely response.

We are in a period of extreme volatility. Whether it hardens into permanent disorder will depend on whether practitioners, donors and thinkers reinvent peacebuilding for this harsher age.”

Recent crises – whether in Haiti, Myanmar or Sudan – illustrate the challenge. Warnings were available but action was delayed until emergencies escalated. Structural weaknesses are even more acute in today’s unsettled environment.

The heyday of multidimensional UN peacekeeping is also over. Missions are smaller, ad hoc and often under-resourced. Peacebuilding has lost traction, too, tarnished by failures in Afghanistan and South Sudan.

Sensitivities over sovereignty, shrinking civic space and declining aid flows make ambitious international interventions unlikely. Even the language has shifted, with “peacebuilding” increasingly replaced by “stabilization” and “resilience.” Yet, the underlying challenge – helping societies escape cycles of violence – remains unchanged.

Renewal strategies in a fragmented system

Adapting to this new disorder requires realism. The old models, anchored in US leadership, reliable OECD donors and robust UN missions, are unlikely to return.

There are at least five overlapping futures: disintegration and drift; pragmatic localization; Western retrenchment; an expanded Chinese footprint; and competitive multipolar aid dynamics.

Navigating this complex, uncertain landscape will require agility and unconventional partnerships. So what are some lessons moving forward?

Embrace tactical risk-taking: Conflict prevention and peacebuilding require experimentation. UN agencies, NGOs and donors should underwrite “safe-to-fail” pilots, community mediation platforms, digital monitoring systems and hybrid finance tools. Some will fail; others may scale. Excessive caution is itself a strategic error.
Advance radical localization: Resources and decision-making need to shift decisively to local actors who often enjoy greater legitimacy and nimbleness. Governments and philanthropies can accelerate this process by supporting southern research networks, diaspora-led initiatives and community NGOs directly, without heavy northern overheads.
Confront opposition head-on: Aid actors are not just neglected but often targeted. Authoritarian regimes routinely delegitimize NGOs as foreign agents. Retreat only emboldens them. Think tanks and foundations should invest in stronger communications, expose disinformation and build solidarity networks for activists under attack.
Leverage technology: Digital tools can entrench repression but also empower prevention and peace-making efforts. AI platforms can model overlapping risks, satellites can document abuses in real time and secure platforms can connect fragmented civic groups. Philanthropies should invest in these tools while pushing for guardrails.
Reframe peace and security as public goods: Prevention must be recast as integral to addressing global challenges, including climate change, migration and digital governance. It also has co-benefits. Conflict-sensitive climate finance can cut emissions and fragility alike. Digital resilience protects democracy and can preserve stability. Linking peace to urgent priorities gives it a new constituency.

A fragile opportunity in a volatile era

Global power centres are reading today’s turbulence in very different ways. In Washington and Brussels, the mood is defensive; in Asia, it is more strategic; and across much of the Global South, it is opportunistic.

States big and small are repositioning, while many in the Global South (including the BRICS) are seeking to redefine aid and development. Looming over this are existential risks: escalating conflict among nuclear powers, unregulated AI and climate shocks.

Civil societies and philanthropies cannot rebuild the post-Cold War order on their own but they can adapt. They can take risks where governments cannot, convene dialogue where politics stalls and invest in technologies and local actors who will shape the future.

They can defend civic space, expose repression and frame peace and security not as charity but as a necessity for resilience. We are in a period of extreme volatility. Whether it hardens into permanent disorder will depend on whether practitioners, donors and thinkers reinvent peacebuilding for this harsher age.

True peace will not come through human institutions but through the reign of Jesus Christ, whose Kingdom will transform the world into harmony and hope.

Humanity longs for peace but cannot achieve it on its own—true and lasting peace will come only through the reign of Jesus Christ.

Our world is caught in a cycle of conflict, division and despair. Turn on the news or scroll through social media, and you’ll see humanity’s attempts at peace—often through violent conflict. Nations wage war in pursuit of security. Politicians pledge unity while sowing discord. People fracture while yearning for meaningful relationships. Institutions try to prevent conflict but to no lasting avail—as we see at this 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

The question that haunts us is simple yet profound: Why can’t humanity achieve the peaceful harmony we desperately desire?

The answer lies not in collective rationale, but in truths beyond human understanding. True, lasting peace cannot be manufactured, negotiated or legislated. After World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur stated the problem is fundamentally “theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence [or revival] and improvement of human character . . . It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.” True peace can come only through divine intervention. Thankfully, Scripture promises that real peace is not just possible—it is certain.

God has promised to send Jesus Christ as the conquering King who will establish His Kingdom and bring the peace that has eluded humanity for millennia. He will establish something new—the Kingdom (or rule) of God over the earth. The prophet Isaiah foretold the resulting peace when all nations will “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks,” and “nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

A sculpture at the U.N. portrays that passage, but the process for achieving it surpasses human know-how. “Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations” (Revelation 15:3, English Standard Version, emphasis added). It is when people give “glory to God in the highest” that there can be “on earth peace, goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).

The future age of peace and joy is the focus of our magazine’s name Beyond Today. That age will yet dawn, as laid out in our cover story, with a companion piece on how Christ’s reign will differ from what we see today. Another article explains how the opportunity to live under God’s rule will ultimately encompass all who have ever lived.

Yet we’re not just waiting for the future. We’re going to live it now. The gospel contains a present invitation, as I explore further in “Living Under Jesus’ Reign Today”. The same King who will rule the earth with justice is the living Jesus who calls us to observe all He commanded His disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)—becoming advanced citizens of God’s Kingdom of peace. We’re called not just to believe intellectually but to surrender completely to the lordship of Jesus Christ and live His laws of outgoing concern that result in true peace.

Here’s a truth many miss—hearing the gospel requires a response. We must “obey the gospel” (2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17; Romans 10:16). Jesus said, “If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:17). These aren’t mere suggestions—they’re requirements for being in the Body of Christ and for citizenship in His coming Kingdom.

Religious teachers often preach about “heaven” while excusing living by its rules. We’re comfortable discussing eternal rewards but avoid present requirements. We love God’s grace but resist His governance. We celebrate future glory while neglecting godliness now. This selective faith is what Jesus warned against when He said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).

This obedience isn’t about earning salvation through works. It’s about living as citizens of the Kingdom we claim to serve. When we understand Jesus is King, our natural response is to align our lives with His commands. Our obedience to the gospel is our testimony to the reality of God’s Kingdom.

Those who submit to Christ’s rule begin to experience a foretaste of His peace that will one day fill the earth. That reality is experienced annually through God’s Feast of Tabernacles. This weeklong festival is filled with blessings, harmonious relationships, spiritual nourishment and physical enjoyment that not only portray His coming reign but provide a living foretaste today.

As we anticipate Christ’s return and the establishment of His perfect Kingdom, we are called to live as Kingdom citizens now. This means letting His peace rule in our hearts when circumstances threaten our joy. It means extending His forgiveness when wronged. It means promoting His laws of love to a world desperate for authentic peace.

The same God who will send Jesus Christ to establish perfect peace on earth is offering His Spirit to establish that peace in our hearts. But we must choose to repent of lawlessness, submit to His rule, receive His forgiveness, obey His commands and live beyond today’s temporary troubles by focusing on tomorrow’s eternal promises.

The Kingdom is coming. The King is returning. The question before you and me now is whether we will live as faithful subjects of the King who already reigns over His Church (Ephesians 1:22, Colossians 1:18).

May you experience the peace that comes from complete surrender to Christ’s reign both now and beyond today!

Gods-Holy-Day-Plan-The-Promise-Of-Hope-For-All-Mankind.pdf
The God’s Holy Day Plan is a biblical concept that outlines a divine plan for humanity, offering hope and a future for all who have ever lived. This plan is revealed through an annual cycle of festivals described in the Scriptures, which serve as reminders of God’s spiritual harvest and His ultimate purpose for mankind. The Holy Days, which fall during three seasons of the year, symbolize God’s commitment to grant eternal life to mortal man and establish His Kingdom on earth. These festivals, such as the Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Atonement, illustrate the unfolding of God’s plan and the importance of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for humanity’s salvation. The observance of these festivals is a testament to God’s great plan for the future of mankind and serves as a guide for believers to understand their purpose and the hope they hold for a better future.

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