World War III

World War III (abbreviated WWIII or WW3) or the Third World War are the names given to a hypothetical global conflict subsequent to World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). It is widely assumed that such a conflict would surpass the prior world wars in both scope and destruction. Some have applied the term to limited conflicts, such as the war on terror, or to the Cold War, which involved regional conflicts backed by superpowers.

After the Manhattan Project's development of nuclear weapons, which were used in the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War II, and their subsequent acquisition and deployment by many countries afterward, the potential risk of a nuclear apocalypse causing inevitable widespread mass destruction of human civilization and life is a common theme in speculation about a third world war. Another primary concern is biological warfare, which could cause mass casualties intentionally or inadvertently by an accidental release of a biological agent or by an unexpected mutation after use. Large-scale apocalyptic events like these, possible after technological advancements in weapons of mass destruction, could render most of Earth's surface uninhabitable.

With the advent of the Cold War in 1947 and the spread of nuclear weapons and technology to the Soviet Union, the possibility of a third global conflict increased. During the Cold War, the possibility of a third world war was anticipated and planned for by military and civil personnel in various countries. Scenarios ranged from conventional warfare to limited or total nuclear warfare. At the height of the Cold War, the doctrine of mutually assured destruction (MAD), which determined that an all-out nuclear confrontation would destroy all of the states involved in the conflict, developed. The potential for absolute destruction of the human species contributed to both American and Soviet leaders working to avoid such a scenario, though several near-misses, caused by faulty technology or human error, still occurred, underscoring the need for restraint by both sides.

Various military conflicts which have occurred since the beginning of the 21st century, most notably the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022, as well as rising geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, have been perceived as potential flashpoints or triggers for a third world war.^[1][2]