US joins list of top 50 conflict-ridden countries

Demonstrators protest the death of George Floyd on June 2, 2020, near the White House in Washington. New research ranks the United States among the 50 most conflict-ridden nations in 2023. [AP Photo]

The United States is the only Western nation among the world's 50 most conflict-ridden countries, according to new research that measures political violence around the globe.

The U.S. ranking is driven by rising levels of political violence and a proliferation of far-right groups in the country in recent years, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, or ACLED.