Financial crisis, uprisings, and the cyber-kinetic threshold
2008 World Events
2008 is represented by eight curated specific-event records from the submitted dataset. 8 carry priority 4 or 5; the most common focus areas are Governance/Diplomacy/Political (3), Military (2), Economic/Trade/Energy (1). This is a structured research index, not an exhaustive history or legal finding.
Selection and evidence boundary
Eight selected records, not an exhaustive yearbook
What is established here: the source workbook selected eight specific records for consistent cross-year comparison.
What inclusion does not mean: moral approval, a complete account of the year, or final resolution of disputed attribution, figures, intent, legality, or long-term effects.
Selected factual records
Eight records for cross-year research
Open the source boundary inside each record before reusing dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, coordinates, or long-term-effect claims.
War broke out over South Ossetia and Abkhazia, with Russian forces entering Georgia.
- Type
- Interstate war
- Research focus
- Military
- Impact scope
- Continental
- Location
- Tskhinvali, Georgia
- Actors named by the source record
- Russia; Georgia; South Ossetian forces
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 42.2276, 43.9689
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Lehman Brothers failed, triggering panic, bailouts, recession, and a redesign of financial regulation.
- Type
- Financial crisis
- Research focus
- Economic / security
- Impact scope
- Global
- Location
- New York City, United States / global
- Actors named by the source record
- Lehman Brothers; central banks; governments; investors
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 40.7128, -74.0060
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Gunmen and bombers attacked hotels, a railway station, a Jewish center, and other Mumbai sites for days.
- Type
- Terrorist attack
- Research focus
- Terrorism
- Impact scope
- Global
- Location
- Mumbai, India
- Actors named by the source record
- Lashkar-e-Taiba; Indian security forces; civilians
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 19.0760, 72.8777
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, gaining broad Western recognition but not universal acceptance.
- Type
- Statehood / recognition crisis
- Research focus
- Political / security
- Impact scope
- Continental
- Location
- Pristina, Kosovo
- Actors named by the source record
- Kosovo leaders; Serbia; recognizing states; Russia
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 42.6629, 21.1655
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Cyclone Nargis killed tens of thousands while the junta resisted international aid access.
- Type
- Natural disaster / governance
- Research focus
- Disaster / governance
- Impact scope
- Continental
- Location
- Naypyidaw / Irrawaddy Delta, Myanmar
- Actors named by the source record
- Myanmar junta; civilians; aid agencies
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 19.7633, 96.0785
- Coordinate precision
- National capital coordinate for disaster theater
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
China hosted the Olympics as a global showcase while facing scrutiny over Tibet, rights, and security.
- Type
- Mega-event / geopolitical signaling
- Research focus
- Political / soft power
- Impact scope
- Global
- Location
- Beijing, China
- Actors named by the source record
- China; IOC; athletes; activists
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 39.9042, 116.4074
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
C. in United States. The United States elected its first Black president during economic crisis and ongoing wars.
- Type
- Political transition
- Research focus
- Political / diplomacy
- Impact scope
- Global
- Location
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Actors named by the source record
- Barack Obama; U.S. voters; global partners
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 38.9072, -77.0369
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
Israel launched a major campaign in Gaza after rocket fire, with heavy civilian harm and international controversy.
- Type
- Military campaign
- Research focus
- Military / conflict
- Impact scope
- Continental
- Location
- Gaza City, Israel / Palestinian territories
- Actors named by the source record
- Israel; Hamas; civilians
- Verification state
- source-start-point; sensitive details require independent verification
- Coordinates
- 31.5017, 34.4668
- Coordinate precision
- City-level coordinate
Starting-point source from the submitted dataset; verify exact dates, attribution, legal posture, casualty figures, and current status before reuse.
External historical research links
Check this year against independent archives and datasets
These destinations are selected by broad topic fit. A listed archive may not hold a record for every event, and opening it does not establish that the 2IA summary is correct.
United Nations Digital Library
Useful for checking resolution text, vote records, official statements, meeting records, and document symbols.
Open sourceUppsala Conflict Data Program
Useful for conflict definitions, event comparison, actor coding, and checking whether a claim fits the dataset's threshold rules.
Open sourceGDELT Project
Useful for identifying media attention patterns, candidate events, cross-border reporting, and questions for deeper source verification.
Open sourceReliefWeb
Useful for humanitarian situation reports, disaster chronology, response organizations, and source discovery.
Open sourceNATO Archives Online
Useful for alliance policy, committee records, strategic concepts, and institutional history.
Open sourceCIA FOIA Electronic Reading Room
Useful for declassified agency records, historical assessments, memoranda, and collection-level research.
Open sourceHow to cite and challenge this page
Verify the exact proposition, not only the event name
Dates, casualty figures, attribution, intent, legal status, coordinates, and long-term effects can have different evidence trails. Use the linked source as a starting point, locate the original or official record, compare genuinely independent sources, and submit corrections when stronger evidence changes a card.