What is actually the case is that we've seen this extraordinary improvement across the board in nearly all forms of political violence, except international terrorism, which doesn't kill a lot of people. And yet most people believe things are getting worse.

As is often the case with criminal violence, there is a huge disjuncture between what people believe is the case and what is actually the case,

Until the 1990s, the international community did little to stop wars. Now it does lots.

Warfare in the 21st century is far less deadly than it was half a century ago. The wars that dominated the headlines of the 1990s were real -- and brutal -- enough. But the global media have largely ignored the 100-odd conflicts that have quietly ended since 1988. During this period, more wars stopped than started.

Among the myths we look at and explode are the idea that international terrorism is the greatest threat to global security. In face, international terrorism kills only a tiny number of people each year compared to the number killed in wars.

We no longer have huge wars with huge armies, major engagements, heavy conventional weapons, most of today's wars are low-intensity wars fought with light weapons, small arms, often in very poor countries, they are extremely brutal but they don't kill that many people.