Are We On The Brink Of World War III? (Odd Arne Westad)
6/7/20261 hr 3 min
How similar is today's world to the months before the outbreak of World War I? Could Taiwan, India-China tensions, or an unforeseen crisis be the spark that sets the world ablaze? Are our leaders too consumed by domestic politics to prevent a catastrophic great power war?
Alastair and Rory are joined by Historian Odd Arne Westad to discuss all these questions and more.
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First 90 secondsAlastair Campbell· Host0:00
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Odd Arne Westad· Guest0:12
International tensions are now at a much higher level. What I'm most worried about is some kind of world-class crisis that we cannot foresee at the moment would come along, and then we wouldn't be able to handle it, and we'd end up in war. We are facing a world very similar to 1914, where leaders let events run away with them. China and India are locked in a conflict that is really, really difficult to resolve. I don't think United States or China are particularly well-placed to become the predominant great powers of the future. If you look at a country like India, I think they are much better placed. If we don't start acting now on these kinds of issues, then we could get into really dicey territory very soon.
Rory Stewart· Host0:51
This episode is presented by IG.
Alastair Campbell· Host0:55
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Rory Stewart· Host1:10
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Alastair Campbell· Host1:24
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