A Third World War, in the 21st Century

The Third World War begins in an unorthodox manner, as there are no spectacular television scenes (replicated on social media) of “surgical” aerial bombardments or more impactful ones with ground forces exchanging fire, suffering and inflicting casualties, with dead and wounded. As a citizen and a military history professional, I decided to embark on a journey through time—beyond the present day, into both the past and the future—to explore the existential challenges facing nation-states. These challenges stem from sources ranging from multinational corporations (such as Big Tech firms) that masquerade as governments to achieve their financial goals—amassing vast fortunes—to anti-democratic, extremist political movements. My aim was to create a work of fiction depicting the Earth as it might look a few decades from now. In developing this war simulation, I used the board game “War” by Grow, the first edition of which was released in 1972. Since this world war will be heterodox compared to the two previous historical wars, with military power being ancillary—at least initially—if we consider the main actions of the belligerent corporations, I will not use plastic pieces to represent the military factors listed as primary.