Some clues :
Douglas P. Fry : Pacified Past
Azar Gat : Warfare as an Ancient Feature
Robert L. Carneiro : Complexity and State Formation
Was the 20th century one of the most violent in human history ? (with two world wars and numerous other conflicts) ?
i also like the documentary series : “The Ascent of man” from the BBC in 1973 by Jacob Bronowski.
In recent years? Yeah. Conflicts around the world rose by 40% between 2020 and 2022 and another 12% from 2022 to 2023. However, before this drastic uptick, conflicts around the world were on a downward trend.
Until 2022 it had been going down since WWII.