Armed Conflict and Its International Dimensions, 1946-2004

In 2004, there were 30 active armed conflicts, up by one from 2003. Despite this slight increase, the number of armed conflicts remains lower than at any time since the early 1970s. While seven of the conflicts from 2003 were no longer active, one entirely new conflict broke out and seven conflicts restarted, three with action taken by new rebel groups and four by previously recorded actors. A total of 228 armed conflicts have been recorded after World War II and 118 after the end of the Cold War. The vast majority of them have been fought within states. However, a little over one-fifth of the internal conflicts are internationalized in the sense that outside states contribute troops to the conflict. Less overt support, involving, for example, financial and logistic assistance, is found much more frequently. This type of support was present in nearly three-quarters of the armed conflicts after the end of the Cold War. Both governments and rebels receive support from outside states, usually neighboring states. Outside support for governments fighting rebel movements is almost always provided by other governments, not by other rebel movements.