Treccani publishes the Geopolitical Atlas

The world in flames: global conflicts reach historic peak, the new map of the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia

While the truce between Israel and Iran, one of the most recent fronts of global tension, seems to be holding, albeit precariously, the global balance of conflicts continues to become increasingly disturbing. According to the Global Peace Index 2025, there are 59 state wars still active, three more than last year, marking the highest level ever recorded since the end of the Second World War. But the reality is even more alarming if we look at the data from the Académie de droit international humanitaire et de droits humains in Geneva, which identifies and monitors as many as 110 ongoing conflicts in the world, thanks to a broader and more detailed classification.

In this complex and fragmented scenario, the new Treccani 2024 geopolitical atlas, published by the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia under the scientific direction of Ambassador Ettore Francesco Sequi, is proposed as an essential compass for orientation. "We live in an era of crumbling peace - underlines Ambassador Sequi - which reflects a new form of pervasive conflict in which cooperation and confrontation coexist in a fragile and precarious balance and in which it becomes essential to know the geopolitical dynamics that will define our future". According to Massimo Bray, general director of the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia, "we live in an era in which contradictory narratives collide and overlap in the incessant media bombardment: for this reason the Treccani 2024 geopolitical Atlas, with its clarity of exposition and its analytical rigor, proposes itself to the community of readers as an authoritative and impartial source of knowledge, to understand a constantly changing reality in which even information can be used as an instrument of war and bent to the needs of conflicts".

With 824 pages packed with 197 updated factsheets on the States, geolocalized maps, thematic infographics, 69 factsheets on international organizations, 362 graphs and essays on new global trends, the Atlas offers a complete and detailed picture. The topics range from geopolitical conflicts to atomic and environmental threats, through migration crises, poverty and underdevelopment. Great attention is also paid to international alliances, demographic changes, energy and security policies, up to the protection of human rights, today more than ever at the center of the global debate. Finally, the data appendix allows for a comparative assessment of the evolution of global phenomena, with a particular focus on critical and strategic raw materials, a source of new dependencies and tensions between States.

(by Paolo Martini)