[tehchromic]

Fascinating. I think that the capacity of nuclear weapons and MAD decreased the likelihood of future world wars to so low as to be effectively none.

But this article kinda opens the possibility of world war taking place entirely in the data/communications realm.

[nerdix]

I think future World Wars are definitely possible with a few caveats:

1. There can be nuclear combatants but the fighting is primarily on the soil of non-nuclear countries.

2. Because of #1, the war more like World War 1 than in World War 2: some sort of peace treaty that doesn't stipulate unconditional surrender. There is no regime change nor post-war occupation of nuclear powers.

3. There is an unprecedently high level of communication between the nuclear combatants as both sides try to reassure the other that they aren't going to unilaterally launch nukes (there may be nuclear brinksmanship in public though as propaganda tool. Backchannels will be all about nuclear deescalation)

[nine_k]

> no regime change

I suppose a regime change can come from within, as a consequence of a lost war and economic hardships. I suppose Russia has a fair chance to experience just that, once it loses.