Total war is warfare by any means possible, disregarding the laws of war, placing no limits on legitimate military targets, using weapons and tactics resulting in significant civilian casualties, or demanding a war effort requiring significant sacrifices by the friendly civilian population.
War, in the popular sense, a conflict between political groups involving hostilities of considerable duration and magnitude. Sociologists usually apply the term to such conflicts only if they are initiated and conducted in accordance with socially recognized forms.
Conflict deaths recently increased in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, stressing that the future of these trends is uncertain. On this page, you can find data, visualizations, and writing on how common war and peace are between and within countries, and how this has changed over time.