David Miliband, the former UK Foreign Secretary, has issued a stark warning that democracy is in global retreat as the world grapples with at least 59 significant conflicts and drastic cuts to humanitarian aid.
A World in Trouble: Conflict and Failing Guardrails
Speaking on The Independent's World of Trouble podcast, Miliband, who now leads the International Rescue Committee (IRC), described a chaotic international landscape. He stated that fragmenting global power is fuelling widespread violence, while democracy is "in retreat and impunity is on the march".
The IRC, one of the world's largest aid organisations, currently operates in 35 countries, providing assistance to 36 million people, including two million children. Despite this vast effort, Miliband sees little hope for peace. He attributes this bleak outlook to Western aid reductions and a decline in the rule of international law.
"There is a global mess because the world is so interconnected," Miliband explained. "The governing guardrails that protected people against danger are in retreat... Now right is in retreat and norms and laws are in retreat. Impunity is on the march. That makes for danger."
The Data Behind the Crisis
Miliband, known for his focus on policy and data, cited alarming figures to underscore the scale of the democratic backslide. He referenced research from the University of Gothenburg which now classifies 91 countries as autocratic, compared to 88 considered democratic.
He pinpointed a two-decade-long decline in global humanitarian conditions, exacerbated by pivotal mistakes in the 2000s like the US-led invasion of Iraq. The refusal of major powers including the US, Russia, India, and Indonesia to recognise the International Criminal Court (ICC) has further weakened accountability, he argued.
The IRC's own 2026 emergency watchlist highlights the countries most at risk of a worsening crisis:
- Sudan
- Occupied Palestinian territory
- South Sudan
- Ethiopia
- Haiti
Other major conflict zones he named include the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, and Myanmar.
Funding Cuts and the Humanitarian Dilemma
The operational environment for aid agencies has grown dramatically harder. Miliband revealed that the IRC has lost roughly a third of its $1.5bn funding in the year since the Trump administration shut down USAID, America's global humanitarian arm.
These wider aid cuts, he warned, endanger an estimated 200 million people affected by conflicts and 120 million who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. When confronted with evidence that humanitarian aid can sometimes fuel conflicts, Miliband acknowledged the difficult trade-offs but stressed the importance of adhering to core principles of independence, neutrality, impartiality, and humanity.
While careful not to directly criticise donor nations where his teams operate, Miliband expressed a robust defence of the liberal international order. "Our democracy is precious. Our liberties are precious," he stated. "I'm a social democrat, but I defend the liberal order... The liberal order says there are different ways of leading a good life."
When questioned about a potential return to UK politics, the former Labour MP gave a characteristically political answer, ruling nothing in or out, but hinted that family considerations might one day bring him back to Britain.
