An expert asserts that the ongoing conflict involving Iran is unlikely to escalate into a third world war due to the lack of support from major powers.
As tensions rise following the outbreak of conflict in Iran, social media has seen an uptick in references to the possibility of a third world war. Many are questioning whether the military actions of the United States and Israel against Iran could snowball into a global conflict. To understand these concerns, we turned to Juhana Aunesluoma, a professor of political history at the University of Helsinki, for his insights on the matter.
Aunesluoma offers a clear perspective: the likelihood of a world war is extremely low. The reason, according to him, is straightforward; no one wants to confront the militarily powerful United States. He suggests that one of the defining characteristics of a world war is the involvement of major powers on opposing sides, which is not the case currently. With Iran facing military action, it seems to stand alone without any major power willing to come to its aid, creating a different dynamic than seen in the first two world wars.
Furthermore, while China and Russia have condemned the attacks verbally, they are not likely to provide military assistance to Iran. Aunesluoma points out that even a country like Spain has condemned the attacks on Iran more vehemently than China, indicating a lack of strong global alliances that would typically characterize a world war scenario. This situation illustrates a unique geopolitical landscape, one where major powers prefer to refrain from entanglement in the conflict rather than escalate it to a global scale.
