This piece originally appeared in the Oxford Diplomatic Dispatch.
“You’re gambling with World War III,” President Donald Trump warned his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, during the latter’s recent visit to the White House. President Trump is aware of the risk of global conflict, especially amid dramatic shifts in the global order. His administration is actively advancing technological innovation and reasserting geopolitical strength to prevent the sparks of local conflict from metastasizing.
In the words of Vice President JD Vance, “not every war is World War II.” When discussing failed transitions to a new international balance of power, its predecessor—the Great War—may prove to be more useful.
Revolutionary military technology, the abrupt emergence of a major geopolitical power, and proxy warfare were factors just as central to geopolitics in the early 20th century as they are today. If there is one lesson to be learned from World War I, it is that these factors can transform regional conflicts into global conflagrations.
Continue reading in the Oxford Diplomatic Dispatch.
