In this essay for The Free Press, Elliot Ackerman and Admiral James Stavridis examine four scenarios that could lead to a third world war.
Drawing on the strategic imagination behind 2034: A Novel of the Next World War, the authors consider how today’s geopolitical flashpoints could escalate into global conflict.
Four Paths to Global Conflict
The essay explores potential crises involving Russia and Ukraine, China and Taiwan, Iran, North Korea, and the risk of escalation between nuclear-armed powers.
War Games and Strategic Warning
Ackerman and Stavridis frame the piece as a speculative exercise, similar to military war games, designed to ask not what will happen, but how the worst could happen.
America’s Internal Risk
The essay also argues that America’s greatest national security threat may be domestic dysfunction, polarization, and the erosion of shared confidence in democratic institutions.
