# What's the oldest current conflict in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 18, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188 "2011-08-18T16:59:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/1 "2011-08-18T16:59:37Z")
I know it’ll be hard to define - just throw out some possibilities. Israel-Palestine goes back to at least 1947. I seem to remember the Koreas have technically been at war since 1950. I’ve been told Ethiopia and Eritrea have similarly been in a ‘state of war’ for decades. India and Pakistan? Israel and Syria? China and Taiwan? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/2 "2011-08-18T17:18:31Z")
Does the battle of the sexes count? That has been going on forever. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/3 "2011-08-18T17:38:47Z")
If you view the China/Taiwan thing as a “current” conflict, then that goes back to 1927, the start of the Chinese Civil War. I’m not sure that there’s been a death due to that conflict since the late '50s, though. ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/4 "2011-08-18T17:39:18Z")
I think we need some definitions as to how to define what you mean by conflict. As one potential candidate: The IRA is a hundred years old and traces the fight back a hundred years more. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/5 "2011-08-18T17:42:27Z")
Good vs. Evil. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/6 "2011-08-18T17:43:02Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > I know it’ll be hard to define - just throw out some possibilities. [The wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_military_conflicts) on current conflicts offers a couple of ways to measure it. Defining current conflict as one in which there were at least 1000 deaths last year, then it’d be the [civil war in Colombia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombian_armed_conflict_(1964%E2%80%93present)), which dates to 1964. For ongoing conflicts that have fewer recent casualities, the article cites three that started in 1948: [The Korean war](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_Korea), the [Israeli-Palestinian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict) thing, and the [internal conflict in Burma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_conflict_in_Burma). The wikipedia article has a pretty good list that you can adapt to fit your own definitions. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/7 "2011-08-18T18:06:16Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > [The wikipedia article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_military_conflicts) on current conflicts offers a couple of ways to measure it. Defining current conflict as one in which there were at least 1000 deaths last year, then it’d be the [civil war in Colombia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colombian_armed_conflict_(1964%E2%80%93present)), which dates to 1964. > > For ongoing conflicts that have fewer recent casualities, the article cites three that started in 1948: [The Korean war](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_Korea), the [Israeli-Palestinian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict) thing, and the [internal conflict in Burma](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internal_conflict_in_Burma). > > The wikipedia article has a pretty good list that you can adapt to fit your own definitions. I never even thought to search for this on Wikipedia.. Should have known better. They don’t include China-Taiwan on that list, even though **MikeS** just said it goes back to 1927. I presume that’s because it has no casualties at all? I’m not sure why the IRA isn’t included either, maybe because the conflict is deemed to be finished? There’s still been sporadic terrorist attacks so you could probably define it as ongoing if you wanted to. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/8 "2011-08-18T18:16:20Z")
Technically speaking, the Israeli-Arab conflict began in 1920 with the [Battle of Tel Hai.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Hai) ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/9 "2011-08-18T18:51:16Z")
Cats v. dogs ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/10 "2011-08-18T18:55:58Z")
prescriptivist vs descriptivist ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/11 "2011-08-18T18:57:08Z")
vi vs EMACs ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/12 "2011-08-18T19:27:13Z")
Apple vs. IBM? Coke vs. Pepsi? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/13 "2011-08-18T21:11:57Z")
Greeks Vs Turks? They’ve hated each other since oh…B.C.E. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/14 "2011-08-18T21:15:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Technically speaking, the Israeli-Arab conflict began in 1920 with the [Battle of Tel Hai.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tel_Hai) Actually, it dates back to the time of Abraham when Ishmael and Isaac had a falling out with each other. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/15 "2011-08-18T21:29:14Z")
In the Christian world, the disputes between the Catholic and the Orthodox churches over which is the legitimate One Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church have been raging for almost a thousand years (they split in 1054), though they have moved away from violence. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/16 "2011-08-19T00:19:25Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Greeks Vs Turks? > > They’ve hated each other since oh…B.C.E. Those were Persians not Turks ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/17 "2011-08-19T02:23:48Z")
USA vs. Latin America, 1823-present. ---
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/18 "2011-08-19T02:36:44Z")
[Volatile India-Pakistan Standoff Enters 11,680th Day](http://www.theonion.com/video/volatile-indiapakistan-standoff-enters-11680th-day,14248/). “The threat of nuclear war hangs over the region with no end in sight, just as it has for the past three decades.” ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/19 "2011-08-19T02:38:45Z")
> [@isaiahrobinson](#): > > . Israel-Palestine goes back to at least 1947. As a point of information, I think you are referring to the Arab/Israeli conflict. According to Wikipedia, the declaration of independence for a state called “Palestine” was in 1988. Before that, again according to Wikipedia, there was an “all Palestine” government which was annulled by a decree of the Egyptian authorities in 1959. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2011, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188/20 "2011-08-19T02:48:51Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > Actually, it dates back to the time of Abraham when Ishmael and Isaac had a falling out with each other. More accurately, it was a rift between their mothers, Sarah and Hagar, a good 15-20 yrs prior. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-oldest-current-conflict-in-the-world/593188.md?page=2)