Exclusive: Poll before 80th anniversary of VE Day finds tensions with Russia seen as most probable cause

As Europe prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day, the YouGov polling also showed large majorities felt that events during and before the second world war were relevant today and must continue to be taught to younger generations.

Between 41% and 55% of respondents in the five European countries polled: Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, said they thought another world war was very or fairly likely within the next five to 10 years, a view shared by 45% of Americans.

Majorities of 68% to 76% said they expected any new conflict would involve nuclear weapons, and between 57% and 73% also said a third world war would lead to greater loss of life than in 1939-1945. Many (25% to 44%) believed it would kill most people in the world.

  • hansolo@lemm.eeEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    Not at all.

    What we’ll get is not one big World War of Axis vs. Allies, but everyone at war with some kind of small regional pissing contest or insurgency.

    Sure, most of the world will be in some form of conflict, but it won’t be a “World War” in the same sense of a 20-on-20 prolonged conflict with well-defined nation-states on each side. Not that this opinion survey can really capture that.

    • scarabic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      That’s a lot of what the first two world wars were, under the sheet. Germany and Japan had few aligned interests, but they agreed to help one another to each pursue their own local imperial ambitions.

      I actually think I’m agreeing with you. I’m just saying that large wars have always been an excuse for regional pissing contests.

      It scares me. Think about Putin and Ukraine. The conflict in Gaza helps Putin, because it distracts the world from what he’s doing. Imagine if there were 5 or 6 Ukraine sized conflicts in the developed world. He’d have a much easier time and there would be less available aid for Ukraine.

      How many Putin-style assholes need to figure this out and launch their little wars before the world is overwhelmed and descends into a chaos where all bets are off?

  • YappyMonotheist@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 months ago

    I don’t see much war happening between Asian neighbours nor Latin American ones, but I can easily see America violently balkanizing (always a matter of time but Trump is the great accelerationist, lol) and Eastern Europe being a hot zone too.

      • YappyMonotheist@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        Somehow I see China absorbing Taiwan without much bloodshed, maybe I’m optimistic. India and Pakistan is something else, you’re probably right. Oh well. :/

        • Maldreamer@lemmy.worldEnglish
          0·
          2 months ago

          India and Pakistan is mostly posturing, there won’t be a full fledged war between the two, just some limited strike by India to show they did something as a political stunt.