War and conflict and the resulting devastation is part of human nature, as it has been for all of our species' history. Why would you expect that to have changed in the last 20 years?
Humanity has reduced famine dramatically over the past 100+ years. If Sudan famine ends up having the higher end of the estimate for deaths, it will likely reverse the clear downward trend, which should be alarming.
Or extremists gaining power, it's not that we've improved, it's that people had enough to eat. But it's slowly changed also here, you can be pragmatic or starving, but not both.
But other democracies and governments are not as strong, and of course, in the west we're enjoying some level of stability that also is a result of exploitation of other parts of the world that is then fighting over a limited amount of remaining resources
I think starving people are often very pragmatic? There’s a great deal that makes perfect sense if you’ve got nothing to lose.