In 1917, the traditional European powers were engrossed in what was, at the time, the deadliest war in human history. Ironically, this ‘World War’ didn’t involve too many countries outside of Europe. The United States maintained a neutral stance through the initial years of the war, though many Americans sympathized with the Anglo-French alliance. Then, one order from the German High Command completely changed the complexion of the war. A German U-boat sank the US passenger liner Lusitania and attempted to make a pact with Mexico to fight the US. Once news of this got out, the US was horrified and immediately prepared for war. The US President, Mr.Woodrow Wilson, called the conflict ‘the war to end all wars’. And the rest, as they say, is history. Within months of the arrival of the US into the war, the German Empire had surrendered and the Kaiser abdicated, paving the way for the ill-fated Weimar Republic to assume control.
However, the interesting thing about World War I was the mindset of the nations involved. Germany and France both believed that the war would be over by Christmas and hoped to swiftly gain resources through the war, but the conflict stretched on for years, ironically draining Europe of a sizable chunk of its resources. When the bodies started piling up, it was thought that World War I would go down as the bloodiest war in history. Consequently, many concluded that humanity would learn from its mistakes; people would put aside their differences and establish peace. This belief is evident in the statement Mr. Wilson delivered. But, we know how peaceful the world has been since 1918. Since the end of the First World War, there have only been “minor skirmishes”. Ironically, the ‘war to end all wars’ set up the Second World War, which turned out to be the deadliest war ever fought. It’s safe to conclude that the peacemakers of 1918 did not possess any powers of prophecy.
Shockingly, a chain of events eerily similar to those which occurred on the eve of the First World War, was repeated barely 40 years after the war’s conclusion, albeit without involving any fighting. The US and the USSR wrestled for ideological supremacy, with each side trying to surpass the other. This mutual loathing almost lead to nuclear war via the Cuban Missile Crisis. Both parties soon realized that direct war was not feasible and so, proxy wars became the norm. As a result, Vietnam, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan — many nations became sites of US-Russia proxy wars, with both sides attempting to influence those countries to accept their ideologies . Tensions were scaled down a bit during the terms of Reagan and Gorbachev, and the US celebrated as if they’d won a war when the Soviet Union collapsed. However, this mirrored the celebrations of the Allies after World War I. The various proxy wars have led to a growing resentment among third-world countries towards one or both of the superpowers and many nations have chosen which side they will support if war does break out.
Unwittingly, the US and Russia could have laid the groundwork for the Third World War. Both nations have a foreign policy that has a tendency to alienate nations whose doctrine does not match theirs, which is uncannily similar to the antics of Nazi Germany in the years just before World War II. Divisions between former allies are now at their highest since 1939. This can only imply one thing — unless the situation changes drastically, we are well and truly on the path to World War III.
Humans are petty creatures — we fight over the most trivial of matters. We’re ready to throw everything away for the sake of power. Our destructive nature compounded with man’s stubborn refusal to see the bigger picture has been the main cause of many wars. The few times we sat down and thought about the consequences our actions could have, we have averted disaster. Co-operation and unity are essential for people to live together with mutual respect. Unfortunately, humans have a tendency to repeat the same mistake twice or thrice just to see if it’s consequences are different. We do learn from our mistakes, but the fear is that we mature only after repeatedly making the same error. This is a recipe for disaster (add a pinch of ‘refusal to learn from mistakes due to one’s ego’ to enhance the taste), for if we do take the much-trodden path to war once more, it could be the last thing we do as a species.
If we refuse to learn from the mistakes we made in the past, we’ll soon find that we’re stuck in an endless cycle of war. We would be the designers of our own catastrophe.
Analytical Abhiram 