The global political and military landscape is shifting, with some experts claiming that World War III has already begun. Unlike the traditional notions of global warfare, there are no large-scale battles or mushroom clouds, yet the evidence suggests that the world is already embroiled in a form of warfare that is subtle, pervasive, and evolving across multiple domains.
World War III, as described by national security expert Mark Toth and former US intelligence officer Colonel Jonathan Sweet, is not like the global wars of the 20th century. “This third global conflagration doesn't look or feel like what Hollywood envisioned. No mushroom clouds or apocalyptic wastelands. Rather, it is war by a thousand cuts, conducted across multi-regional and multi-domain battlefields,” they explained in an interview with the Daily Mail. The early stages of the conflict, they argue, were set in motion with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Hybrid Warfare of Today: A New Form of ConflictThe concept of hybrid warfare lies at the heart of the assertion that World War III is already underway. In today’s conflicts, battles are fought not just with physical weapons, but with a mix of cyberattacks, disinformation, and economic manipulation.
Toth and Sweet particularly point to Russia’s involvement in Ukraine and beyond as an example of hybrid warfare, highlighting Moscow’s use of paramilitary groups like the Wagner Group to destabilise regions across Africa, as well as its growing influence in space and cyberspace. Russia's efforts to use disinformation, including troll farms and AI-generated deepfakes, spread across social media to manipulate public opinion and sow discord in Western democracies, further complicating the landscape of this new war.
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