How Close Are We To The Prospect Of World War III?

Since WWII, the prospect of WWIII has always been something people worry about in the back of their minds. During the height of the Cold War, it was feared that this would ignite another global war that spanned many countries and saw millions of people lose their lives. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case, and the world has been relatively at peace since then. Yes, conflicts still exist throughout the world - many of which are and have been extremely serious. Still, the threat of a third world war has never really seemed that close…until now. 

With Russia invading Ukraine at the beginning of 2022, mass panic spread across the globe. Ukrainians started fleeing to nearby countries, while some stayed behind to take up arms and fight against Russian soldiers. Some may argue that this still is not the biggest conflict since the second world war, but it’s certainly one that’s gained most of the media attention. Partially, this is thanks to who’s involved, as well as how similar it feels to the beginning of the second world war. 

WWII began with Hitler’s invasion of Germany’s close neighbor Poland, believing that they owned territory there. The war in Ukraine was sparked by Putin doing an extremely similar thing. You can see why people start to get worried, particularly given how unhinged Putin is as a person. Nevertheless, does this now mean we are getting closer and closer to a third world war? Let’s find out…

The motives behind Putin’s war

To start, let’s look at the motives behind Putin’s war compared to wars in the past. The two previous global wars were born out of a desire to see Germany become the ruler of Europe - and ultimately a key powerhouse on a global scale. This is why they invaded many countries during both wars and tried to claim the land as their own. Obviously, you have to take Hitler’s ideologies into account for WWII, as he hoped to bring forth the era of the Arian race. So, you can say there were two motives at play: 

• Expanding Territories 
• Racial cleansing

In Ukraine, the war is fundamentally about Russia’s belief that it owns part of the Ukrainian territories. Indeed, Putin has been trying for some time to reclaim Ukraine as Russian territory. Alongside this, he also claimed that Ukraine was ruled by neo-nazis that hated Russian minorities. In a way, he is weirdly trying to spin this as a liberation mission, to free Ukraine from nazi suppressors. 

Obviously, we know the second point is just bogus propaganda spewed out to try and justify his invasion. The real reason for the war is simply to make Russia bigger and more powerful. It’s clear that Putin wants to return to the pre-Cold War era when Russia had the whole Soviet Union under its control. 

Where does the need for power end?

Perhaps the biggest concern is that Russia doesn’t stop with its invasion of Ukraine. What if they win and do gain control of the territories they’re after? Will they simply call an end to the war or keep pushing to extend their power further? 

This is where we get into WWIII territory. If this were to happen, many other countries would likely get involved and actively fight back against Russian forces. However, for now, this doesn’t look like it’s the case. So, we are not close to a third world war just yet. Well, we’re closer now than we were twelve months ago, but there’s still a very long way to go before it reaches the scale of either of the previous two world wars. 

Is a third world war even possible in modern times?

While you can look at some similarities between the two world wars and the current situation in Ukraine, there are some massive differences that make it harder to envisage a world where there’s another war on a global scale. 

Fundamentally, political systems work differently now than how they used to. Thanks to the world wars, treaties are in place and world leaders are more in contact with one another than before. It is harder for countries to ally themselves with a country like Russia in a conflict like this. As has been reflected in the fact that only Belarus is really supporting them right now. Global leaders know that sanctions could face their own countries if they get involved because what Russia is doing is not right at all. 

Furthermore, advancements in technology make it unlikely we’ll have a world war like the previous ones anyway. We now have things like velocity radar tech that can pinpoint missiles in the sky from miles away, preventing any sneak attacks from happening. We will probably never see countries getting tanks together or huge aerial fleets flying overhead like before. If there is another world war, it will probably be dominated by technology more than brute force. 

WWII is certainly not impossible, but it is unlikely. There are still some major players - like North Korea or China - who could step up and support Russia. That would certainly move us closer to a global conflict, but right now it is more likely that this will be an issue confined to Eastern Europe and Russia/Ukraine. 

Should we be worried?

We should be worried in the sense that it’s unsettling to see Russia do this. Plus, the war has already had a profound impact across the world, particularly in Europe. It’s caused energy price inflations in the West, which has a knock-on effect on ordinary people and their daily lives. 

However, if you are concerned about a third world war starting anytime soon, the likelihood is extremely slim. In fact, many experts suggest that a second Cold War is the most likely scenario out of the two. There will likely be a lot of back and forth for years between Russia and other countries around the world, but a full declaration of war will probably not happen. For the people in Ukraine’s sake, we can only hope that an end to the conflict comes sooner rather than later as Russia sees the error of its ways. 

(Disclaimer: Devdiscourse's journalists were not involved in the production of this article. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of Devdiscourse and Devdiscourse does not claim any responsibility for the same.)