On a serious note:

I don't think that any country will start a world war anytime soon. They are smarter than that.

IF I had to name a possible candidate, I'd probably go with North Korea, though.

well i'm sorry if europe and asia decided not to follow tradition and stick their land to each other!

I don't see how North Korea would cause a world war. Who is on their side if they drop a bomb on Japan or S. Korea? China? Ya, right, as if they would want to compromise their business deals with Europe and America. I don't see anyone backing up North Korea at all.


My main worry is Tokyo. How safe is Japan against a North Korean missile? Tokyo not only has 28-33m people, it's economy is somewhere between $1-1.5 Trillion, so the economic impact could be tremendous.

There is one conflict which worries me (though I don't think it will cause a World War). Taiwan. The US has promised to protect Taiwan at all costs, and with China claiming it as part of itself, that could spell trouble. Especially since the Iraq war was an instance where the US declared war on a country that did not provoke it. If the US can do that, what reasoning could it use against China, which claims Taiwan as part of itself?

That's why I had a big bold IF in there. The only country that can start a World War is the one that has nuclear potential and I just don't see any other starting it. Maybe Iran, but they are making a step in the right direction at the moment.

China has a blooming economy at the moment, I see no reason for a war.

Sure, the stage may have already been set by the complex web of alliances and counterbalances that developed between the various European powers during the 19th century but what ultimately triggered the war was Franz Ferdinand's assassination. That is what historians generally consider to be the beginning of World War I.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was a welcome excuse to start the war.

I doubt North Korea, probably India/Pakistan, followed by one in the middle East, possibly Iran or Israel/Palestine

while the potential for a world war to be sparked in the indopak region exists, with a little bit of common sense on the part of the 2 countries, that will be avoided. both countries have enough to hurt the other one really really really badly even before another country gets a chance to even take sides. and both sadly, are extremely trigger happy as well.

It could happen but hopefully, i dont see it happening in the near future.

It will not be on a world war scale, but significant nonetheless

if it happens ... yes ... it will be bad .... specially if you start considering the regions around the 2 countries and their political relations

I think Luembourg, Lichtenstein and Papua New Guinea are plotting against the rest of the world as we speak.

What about Sam Marino and Andorra? :?

I forgot about them Doc. I think they are in cahoots as well as Kazakhstan and Iceland.

Yeah, it's just too bad we don't have an army, having been a neutral country throughout the ages. That is certainly a catch that will make it much harder for us to start the next world war. But I've no doubt we'll manage. We'll probably achieve this through nonviolence, much in the vein of Gandhi. We'll just use psychological warfare instead!

Exactly how many countries have to be involved for the war to be considered a WORLD war? I've always wondered.

The answer to this would decide what country I think would "start" a world war, because sure, there are a lot of countries that could start a war, but not a "world war".

PEACE, Mike