While it seems like things are really going going poorly, part of that perception might be due to forgetfulness about how bad it was in the past.

Here's an article reporting on a study by Sweden's Stockholm International Peace Research Institute that says that the number of wars has been on a constant decline for quite a while, and that we're at a minimum right now.

"The institute's newly released Yearbook 2006, drawing from data maintained by Sweden's Uppsala University, reports the number of active major armed conflicts worldwide stood at 17 in 2005, the lowest point in a steep slide from a high of 31 in 1991."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/06/28/fewer_wars_but_what_is_a_conflict/