With the whole world in a state of conflict and bitter rivalries, conditions are pretty close to the pre-war times of World War One and Two. Unlike the previous World Wars, however, the alliance teams featured would be polar opposites. The US and Germany would finally be teammates, while Iran may have a lot more to contribute this time around. So, let's get to it: the five reasons why World War III may be closer than you think:
1. The India-Pakistan Conflict
As of now, the India-Pakistan conflict isn't one dominating Indian or Pakistani headlines, let alone international headlines. However, with Pakistan and India now becoming nuclear states, this could change in the near future. The rivalry has been more fierce than ever before, and ever since border violence has escalated in the summer of 2014. The high officials in Islamabad and New Delhi have been working hard through back channels to end these small border conflicts, but increasing tensions could lead to something bigger. If this conflict ever escalated, the allies of both sides could bring in a global alliance system waiting to get into action.
2. ISIS
This won't necessarily count as a "world war", but a war against ISIS could bring in all the world's powers in a Marvel-esque fashion. The United States, France, Great Britain, Germany, India, Japan, China, Russia, and countless other countries would take part in an allied effort to defeat the group. Of course, everything in this article is a hypothetical scenario, so the feasibility of this is an argument for another time.
3. The Israel-Iran Conflict
This conflict definitely has the caliber to produce a war in the near future, but becoming a world war is questionable. Iran has backing, so does Israel. Both countries are nuclear, and both are at the edge of the line, waiting for one to make that step leading to war. As of now, both countries are at relative peace, as both have their own internal problems to deal with. However, this conflict could be a problem for the future, and should be resolved immediately.
4. Brexit
You may think that Brexit only has economic impacts, but the political impacts of this decision are something to worry about. Britain leaving the European Union is a sign of Europe's decaying solidarity, with the Euro failing in some countries and different foreign policies creating a huge backlash against the European Union and its success rate in this modern age. Europe needs the European Union, and even though countries have wanted to leave for years, they never did. Of course, until the United Kingdom set precedent. Europe won't descend into the militaristic day and age of the 1920's, but possible conflicts could arise again.
5. Resources
The population growth of the world in these last 20 years shows no sign of ever slowing down, and this may be a good thing and a bad thing. One thing is for sure though, the resources of this Earth are going to be strained more than ever, with water scarcity and food scarcity becoming a huge problem. Global Warming is also causing more dangerous weather phenomena, with more droughts and floods, producing lesser yields of crops for countries across the globe. In these times, a conflict isn't going to be sparked because of the assassination of an Archduke or the whims of a dictator. It's going to be because of resource scarcity, countries needing to do what they can to get as many resources to feed as many people as possible, and this could definitely lead to conflict.
Of course, everything in this article is a hypothetical, and isn't an article that is in the interests of fear-mongering or war-mongering. It is simply a summary of world conflict, and what could lead to a global conflict in the near future. Hopefully, World War 3 never comes, and the world continues to enjoy the peace that it has kept for almost a century and keep it going for centuries to come.
