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Warlords Rule the World? German Report Questions International Order
🇷🇸 Serbia /Conflict & Security

Warlords Rule the World? German Report Questions International Order

From N1 Serbia · () Serbian

Translated from Serbian, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • A new report suggests a rise in "new warlords" undermining international order and law.
  • Leaders like Putin, Trump, and Netanyahu are cited for prioritizing military force and disregarding international law.
  • The trend fuels global crises, reduces aid, and increases hunger, disease, and crime, according to the report.

The world is witnessing the resurgence of "new warlords" who are undermining international law and order, according to the "2026 Report on Peace," presented by German research institutes. This term, previously associated with conflicts in Liberia, Afghanistan, and Somalia during the 1990s, now describes 21st-century actors prioritizing their own interests through military force, often disregarding established international norms.

The use of military force is their favorite means of pursuing interests. They do not care about international law.

— Konrad SchütterDescribing the approach of leaders like Putin, Trump, and Netanyahu.

Konrad Schütter of the Bonn International Center for Conflict Studies (bicc) identified Russian President Vladimir Putin, former U.S. President Donald Trump, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as examples of leaders whose preferred method is military intervention to achieve their goals, with little regard for international law. While not equating them entirely, researchers noted similar patterns in their approaches, as highlighted by Ursula Schröder from the Institute for Peace and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg.

This trend is characterized by the "re-normalization of violence as a standard political tool," aiming to limit the political sovereignty of other states for geopolitical, strategic, or economic gains. The report also implicates several Gulf monarchies, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, in various civil wars across regions like Libya and Somalia, driven by similar interests.

We don't want to equate all of them, but we observe the same patterns.

— Ursula SchröderCommenting on the similar patterns observed in the actions of various leaders.

Nicole Deitelhoff of the Leibniz Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy in Frankfurt warned that these "warlords" are accelerating the disintegration of the international order, particularly impacting institutions like the United Nations. The report urges Germany and Europe to increase their engagement and find partners to preserve the rule-based international order, cautioning that financial cuts to development cooperation and humanitarian aid exacerbate crisis dynamics, leading to increased hunger, disease, and crime.

They are fueling the disintegration of the international order.

— Nicole DeitelhoffWarning about the consequences of the actions of these 'new warlords'.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by N1 Serbia in Serbian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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