THE NEXT WORLD WAR: NOT NEAR, BUT NOT SO FAR

The unfolding scenarios in the international system require some interrogation. The ominous threats of nuclear weapons by competing and contending powers, both major and global, give the system a complex character at a time it is relapsing into imminent anarchy. In East Asia, the crisis between China and Taiwan is experiencing massive troop and armament deployment. Also, the sticky situation between North Korea and South Korea has witnessed series of missile tests by North Korea to which South Korea has not responded other than to swagger with the U.S. in joint military drills. It is evident that the provocations are calculated. In South Asia, Iran looks unstoppable with its uranium development. The recent arms deal between North Korea and Russia was also meant to expand the scope of threat. The Russian-Ukrainian war in Eastern Europe can boast of deployment of different kinds of technological equipment and gadgets of war. This study is designed to provide theoretical understanding to these build-ups via empirical findings in order to establish their potential for escalatory tendencies into an all-out war of global proportion. The study adopts nuclear weapons and international conflict theory as its theoretical framework. There is very scarce literature on the endangerment of nuclear symmetries compelled by the overwhelming actions and desires of individual states to also develop their own nuclear capabilities like others. This paper therefore attempts a theoretical contextualization of nuclear weapons symmetries and asymmetries and the psychological and political maturity of the countries’ leaderships not to allow this grandstanding to undermine and imperil global peace.