Talk of a Global War Grows as Conflicts Spread
Are we headed for a new global conflict? References to it are proliferating – and it’s easy to see why.
The Israel-Hamas war that’s raging on with no end in sight, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, North Korea’s test barrages of new missiles on an almost weekly basis, and growing tensions in the Pacific over China’s muscle flexing and its territorial claim on Taiwan. The list goes on.
While the US insists it won’t be dragged into a deeper conflict in the Middle East, it’s vowing more strikes against groups supported by Iran after three days of retaliatory attacks in response to assaults on its bases in the region. That’s as the US and UK are targeting Houthi rebels in Yemen for disrupting shipping in the Red Sea.
President Joe Biden is under pressure to take more muscular action against Tehran after the killing of three American soldiers in Jordan by Iranian-backed militants. And his administration’s search for a diplomatic pause to the conflict in Gaza has so far failed.
Biden is facing a difficult bid for reelection in November, likely against his predecessor Donald Trump whose Republican party has rewritten its historical commitment to allies by holding up vital military aid for Ukraine in the name of partisan politics.
Should Trump win, the current US drive to deprive Beijing of the ability to produce and access the most advanced semiconductors — part of Washington’s efforts to curb its geopolitical rival — will probably accelerate.
China, Russia and the so-called Global South developing countries don’t agree on everything, but they do share a desire to end, or at least seriously overhaul, the US-led system of international rules.
It all adds to the cocktail of conflicts that are upending the post-Cold War order and threatening further global instability.
While some of the rhetoric about a world war may be overblown, there are real risks. The room for miscalculation is narrowing. — Karl Maier