Yes, stuff still happened, but it was all mostly local scale in consequences or temporary blips. Conflicts, economic downturns, weather events can all be huge tragedies, but an entire super power cratered in on itself in '91 and splintered into smaller countries massively rewriting the political landscape. And in 2001, 9-11 happened and its arguably a starting point for a domino effect of terrible unhinged shit that followed that also had massive global political ramifications, arguably to this very day.