Zero‑sum exhaustion: The new shape of global conflict

The major geopolitical confrontations of our time have entered a phase that can only be described as zero‑sum exhaustion—a stage in which no actor wins, no actor loses decisively, and no actor possesses the capacity to impose a clear endgame. Modern wars have become long-distance marathons in which the objective is not victory but the avoidance of defeat. This makes them more draining, more ambiguous, and more politically corrosive than any previous form of conflict. Regional and global powers involved in today’s crises can no longer dictate final outcomes. Armies advance, militias proliferate, economies bleed, yet the strategic balance remains unchanged: there are no victors. This structural shift has pushed the world into a new model of “permanent low‑intensity warfare”—conflicts […]