This magazine doesn’t always look inwardly at the region, sometimes it surveys the world outside.

The biggest threat to the stability of the world in the next 10 years comes from the risk of international conflict according to a new report by the World Economic Forum released ahead of next week’s Davos.

The report, which every year features an assessment by experts on the top global risks in terms of likelihood and potential impact over the coming ten years, finds interstate conflict with regional consequences as the number one global risk in terms of likelihood, and the fourth most serious risk in terms of impact.

In terms of likelihood, as a risk it exceeds extreme weather events, failure of national governance systems, state collapse or crisis and high structural unemployment or underemployment.

Other top risks alongside that and interstate conflict in terms of impact have been identified as rapid and massive spread of infectious diseases, weapons of mass destruction and failure of climate change adaptation.

Twenty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the world again faces the risk of major conflict between states,” said Margareta Drzeniek-Hanouz, Lead Economist, World Economic Forum. “However, today the means to wage such conflict, whether through cyberattack, competition for resources or sanctions and other economic tools, is broader than ever. Addressing all these possible triggers and seeking to return the world to a path of partnership, rather than competition, should be a priority for leaders as we enter 2015.”

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