This article lists significant political and societal historical events of the 2010s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format.

World events War on extremists in Iraq

Global issues

Climate change In December 2019, the World Meteorological Organization released its annual climate report revealing that climate impacts are worsening.Climate Change Is Accelerating, Bringing World 'Dangerously Close' to Irreversible Change, By Henry Fountain, December 4, 2019, The New York Times. They found the global sea temperatures are rising as well as land temperatures worldwide. 2019 is the last year in a decade that is the warmest on record.2019 Ends Warmest Decade On Record, State Of The Global Climate Report Warns, iflscience.com The 2010s were the hottest decade in recorded history, according to NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 2016 was the hottest year and 2019 was the second hottest.The last decade was the warmest ever recorded, NASA and NOAA find By Denise Chow, NBC News, January 15, 2020

Global carbon emissions hit a record high in 2019, even though the rate of increase slowed somewhat, according to a report from Global Carbon Project.Global carbon emissions growth slows, but hits record high, December 3, 2019, Stanford University via phys.org.

International conflict

Libya

In early 2011, a civil war broke out in the context of the wider "Arab Spring". The anti-Gaddafi forces formed a committee named the National Transitional Council, on 27 February 2011. It was meant to act as an interim authority in the rebel-controlled areas. After the government began to roll back the rebels and a number of atrocities were committed by both sides, a multinational coalition led by NATO forces intervened on 21 March 2011, with the stated intention to protect civilians against attacks by the government's forces. Shortly thereafter, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Gaddafi and his entourage on 27 June 2011. Gaddafi was ousted from power in the wake of the fall of Tripoli to the rebel forces on 20 August 2011, although pockets of resistance held by forces loyal to Gaddafi's government held out for another two months, especially in Gaddafi's hometown of Sirte, which he declared the new capital of Libya on 1 September 2011. His Jamahiriya regime came to an end the following month, culminating on 20 October 2011 with Sirte's capture, NATO airstrikes against Gaddafi's escape convoy, and his killing by rebel fighters.

Syria During the Syrian civil war, a number of foreign countries, such as Iran, Russia, Turkey, and United States, became directly involved. Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah supported the Syrian Arab Republic militarily, with Russia launching its airstrikes and ground operations since September 2015. The U.S.-led international coalition, established in 2014 with the declared purpose of countering the IS organization, was conducting airstrikes primarily against IS and sometimes against government and pro-Assad forces. Since 2015, the coalition deployed special forces and artillery units for their campaign, in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria and Al-Tanf deconfliction zone; and materially and logistically supported their armed wings, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Army of Free Syria respectively. Turkish military fought the SDF, IS, and the Assad government since 2016, but also actively supported the Syrian National Army (SNA) and would occupy parts of northern Syria while engaging in significant ground combat. Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from the Syrian civil war spilled over into Lebanon as opponents and supporters of the Syrian government traveled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil. While officially neutral, Israel exchanged border fire and carried out repeated strikes against Hezbollah and Iranian forces, whose presence in western Syria it viewed as a threat.Death toll in alleged Israeli strikes near Damascus up to 23 fighters — monitor , Times of Israel

Nagorno-Karabakh

The 2010 Nagorno-Karabakh clashes were a series of exchanges of gunfire that took place on February 18 on the line of contact dividing Azerbaijani and the Karabakh Armenian military forces. As a result, three Azerbaijani soldiers were killed and one wounded. Both sides suffered more casualties in the 2010 Mardakert clashes, the 2012 border clashes, and the 2014 clashes.

The 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict began along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on 1 April 2016 with the Artsakh Defence Army, backed by the Armenian Armed Forces on one side and the Azerbaijani Armed Forces on the other. The clashes occurred in a region that is disputed between the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Azerbaijan. Officially Baku reported the loss of 31 servicemen without publishing their names. Nevertheless, Armenian sources claimed much higher numbers varying between 300 and 500. The Ministry of Defence of Armenia reported the names of 92 military and civilian casualties, in total. The US State Department estimated that a total of 350 people, both military and civilian, had died.

The 2018 Armenian–Azerbaijani clashes began on 20 May 2018 between the Armenian Armed Forces and Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Azerbaijan stated to have taken several villages and strategic positions within the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Ukraine

In early 2014, the Euromaidan protests led to the Revolution of Dignity and the ousting of Ukraine's pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. Shortly after, pro-Russian unrest erupted in eastern and southern Ukraine. Simultaneously, unmarked Russian troops moved into Ukraine's Crimea and took over government buildings, strategic sites and infrastructure. Russia soon annexed Crimea after a highly disputed referendum. In April 2014, armed pro-Russian separatists seized government buildings in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and proclaimed the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) as independent states, starting the Donbas war. The separatists received considerable but covert support from Russia, and Ukrainian attempts to fully retake separatist-held areas failed. Although Russia denied involvement, Russian troops took part in the fighting. In February 2015, Russia and Ukraine signed the Minsk II agreements to end the conflict, but the agreements were never fully implemented in the years that followed. The Donbas war settled into a violent but static conflict between Ukraine and the Russian and separatist forces, with many brief ceasefires but no lasting peace and few changes in territorial control.

World banking Concerns increased due to the euro area crisis as both Greece and Italy had high levels of public debt. This caused concerned about stability of the Euro. In December 2019, the EU announced that banking ministers from EU member nations had failed to reach agreement over proposed banking reforms and systemic change.Eurozone ministers divided over banking union negotiations.EU ministers fail to advance eurozone reforms, By RECORDER REPORT on December 6, 2019. The EU was concerned about high rates of debt in France, Italy and Spain.EU concerned over France, Italy and Spain debts By Beatriz Rios | EURACTIV.com November 21, 2019. Italy objected to proposed new debt bailout rules that were proposed to be added to the European Stability Mechanism.Italy Takes Issue With the ESM Proposals to reform the eurozone's bailout fund are being hotly contested in Italy amid concerns that the ESM could set the country back on rebuilding finances after the sovereign debt crisis , by Lana Guggenheim.

In the first half of 2019, global debt levels reached a record high of $250 trillion, led by the US and China.Global debt surged to a record $250 trillion in the first half of 2019, led by the US and China, November 15, 2019, Spriha Srivastava. The IMF warned about corporate debt. The European Central Bank raised concerns as well.45.6% Of Eurozone's Corporate Debt Is BBB, POSTED BY: THE CORNER November 23, 2019.

World trade United States-China trade dispute A trade dispute between the US and China caused economic concerns worldwide. In December 2019, various US officials said a trade deal was likely before a proposed round of new tariffs took effect on December 15, 2019.US, China trade deal expected before tariff increase: Report. Trump's 'off the cuff' comments not a sign talks are at an impasse. Fox News Channel US tariffs had a negative effect on China's economy, which slowed to growth of 6%.

United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement is a signed but not ratified free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The Agreement is the result of a 2017–2018 renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by its member states. Negotiations "focused largely on auto exports, steel and aluminum tariffs, and the dairy, egg, and poultry markets." One provision "prevents any party from passing laws that restrict the cross-border flow of data". Compared to NAFTA, USMCA increases environmental and labour regulations, and incentivizes more domestic production of cars and trucks.|url= The agreement also provides updated intellectual property protections, gives the United States more access to Canada's dairy market, imposes a quota for Canadian and Mexican automotive production, and increases the duty free limit for Canadians who buy U.S. goods online from $20 to $150.

Africa

Piracy

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea affects a number of countries in West Africa, including Benin, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the wider international community. By 2011, it had become an issue of global concern. Pirates are often part of heavily armed criminal enterprises, who employ violent methods to steal oil cargo. In 2012, the International Maritime Bureau and other agencies reported that the number of vessels attacks by West African pirates had reached a world high, with 966 seafarers attacked and five killed during the year.West African Piracy Exceeds Somali Attacks, Report Says Alan Cowell, The New York Times, June 18, 2013

Piracy off the coast of Somalia occurs in the Gulf of Aden, Guardafui Channel, Somali Sea, in Somali territorial waters and other areas. It was initially a threat to international fishing vessels, expanding to international shipping since the second phase of the Somali Civil War, around 2000. By December 2013, the US Office of Naval Intelligence reported that only nine vessels had been attacked during the year by the pirates, with no successful hijackings.Somali piracy was reduced to zero this year David Yanofsky in Somalia, Quartz, December 27, 2013 In March 2017, it was reported that pirates had seized an oil tanker that had set sail from Djibouti and was headed to Mogadishu. The ship and its crew were released with no ransom given after the pirate crew learned that the ship had been hired by Somali businessmen.Somali pirates release oil tanker and crew after first hijack for five years The Guardian World News, March 16, 2017

War on terror

The most prominent terrorist groups that are creating a terror impact in Africa include Boko Haram of Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger, and Al-Shabaab of Somalia.

Boko Haram has carried out more than 3,416 terror events since 2009, leading to more than 36,000 fatalities. One of the better-known examples of Boko Haram's terror tactics was the 2014 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping of 276 schoolgirls in Borno State, Nigeria. Boko Haram is believed to have links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb dating back to at least 2010. In 2015 the group expressed its allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, which ISIL accepted.