Never two without three? Since the Second World War, the prospect of a third generalized conflict has haunted – and therefore shaped – international relations. Jenny Raflik, historian, professor at Nantes University and author of IVe Republic and the Atlantic Alliance (Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2013) and The Cold War (Cerf, 128 p., € 14), analyzes the evolution of representations of this persistent threat.
When is the third world war imagined for the first time?
Its possibility is envisaged as soon as the end of the Second World War is looming. Even before the stopping of hostilities, some American higher officers, such as General George Patton, seriously consider the risk of a conflict with the USSR-which is still an ally of the United States.
If the idea therefore emerges very early, it is difficult to estimate the credit that is granted to it. On the side of political and military leaders, the fear of an open conflict between Americans and Soviets is very variable according to individuals and their representations: some are convinced that a conflict is inevitable, while others will never believe in this possibility, whatever their nationality.
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