Third World War or First Global War?

(Interamerican Institute for Democracy) Russia’s invasion to Ukraine with crimes of a “war of aggression” and “against humanity” has produced a confrontation in which no one is left on the fringes and not impacted by it. In our capitalist, globalized world in the midst of a 21st century technological revolution, while this war has a front of armed combat in Ukraine’s territory, it is a conflagration -without exceptions- throughout the world that has the characteristics of the Third World War, or the first Global War.

Humanity’s modern history has established the denomination of “World War” for the two wars that, in the 20th century, encompassed a confrontation of such magnitude that affected the entire planet and that conveyed “the scale of terror the conflict had generated”. The first, also called “The Great War” from 1914 to 1918, pitted the “Triple Entente against the Triple Allegiance” and the second, from 1939 to 1945, was the fight of the “Allied Forces against the Axis Powers”.

The end of the Second World War determined the new international order that now exists based on “peace as an obligation of international jurisprudence”, the condemnation of “wars of aggression” with the creation of the United Nations Organization for the maintenance of international peace and security. It established tribunals to try crimes of aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity, such as the Nuremberg Tribunal that handed down 12 death sentences and three life sentences and the Tokyo Tribunal that handed down seven death sentences and 16 life sentences and other criminal convictions.

Carl V. Clausewitz, a respected military theorist, considers that “war is nothing but a duel on an extensive scale” and offers the concept that “war, therefore, is an act of violence intended to compel our opponent to fulfil our will” and that “war is not merely a political act, but also a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means”. In its true and strict sense war is “the social conflict in which two or more groups face each other in a violent way, through the use of all sorts of weapons, with resulting death and considerable destruction”.

The concept of “total war” defines a war in which the home front (that is, a state»s political system, society and economy) mobilizes to a massive degree and to its limits all its available resources, whether they be; human, military, industrial, agricultural, technological, scientific, or any other type, in order to totally destroy the contender’s capabilities”

“Neutrality” is defined as “not to take part in, and to renounce any type of intervention in a conflict” that is to say “one does not partake of any of these options in a conflict”. In international law, neutrality has two components that are; “not taking part” and the “impartiality” in armed conflict.

If we apply those concepts to the objective reality of Russia’s invasion to Ukraine and to the worldwide effects this aggression has produced and is producing, we can confirm that we are in the midst of a far-reaching worldwide conflagration with efforts to restrain the armed battle to Ukraine’s territory but that this conflagration has made the entire world, without exceptions, a battle ground for economic, communications, and technological battles.

The extent of the war -the armed battles raging in Ukraine’s territory- is also economic throughout the world by the sanctions imposed against Russia in an effort to stop the aggression and to force Vladimir Putin and his dictatorship to respect the sovereignty of the attacked State, hampering the possibility of expansion of the armed conflict. The actions and the economic effects of the criminally unleashed conflict against peace perpetrated by Russia in a relatively small battle ground, are worldwide as shown by daily fuel consumption prices throughout the world.

The global confrontation is also on communications, media coverage, and technology as shown day-to-day by the media, communications’ networks, official statements of governments, international organizations’ decisions, civil society interviews, massive protests, social media networks, and more.

The invasion to Ukraine in our globalized, technological world has not left room for neutrality. The severity of Russia’s actions and the threats and consequences are so great that they have made it evident that the axis of confrontation in this 21st century is dictatorship against democracy.

Throughout the world, as expressed by the media and international organizations, there are only two groups of States and governments; those who defend freedom and democracy and also support Ukraine and those who comprising different types of dictatorships or governments at their service defend -be it with their vote or abstention- Russians dictatorship’s war of aggression.

We are all included and affected by this war that can be called “Third World War” or “First Global War”.

*Attorney & Political Scientist. Director of the Interamerican Institute for Democracy.

Translation from Spanish by Edgar L. Terrazas