Global News Podcast The Global Story: Are we heading for World War Three?
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Mar 29, 2026 
Margaret MacMillan, a historian of international relations at Oxford and Toronto, explores whether the Iran conflict could spiral wider. She looks at how wars start by accident. She traces chain reactions, shipping threats, Gulf instability, and tensions around Taiwan. She also examines why leaders fail to stop fighting and where diplomacy might still create an off-ramp.
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What Actually Makes A War Global
- MacMillan defines a world war less by universal battlefield coverage than by global entanglement that makes conflict hard to contain.
- She notes Latin America saw little fighting in the world wars, while countries like Canada and the United States fought mainly overseas.
How A Regional War Could Trigger Wider Conflict
- MacMillan argues the Iran war could widen if Tehran or its allies attack tankers, naval vessels, desalination plants, or close the Strait of Hormuz.
- She says even reluctant powers like China could be pulled in economically or exploit distraction by moving on Taiwan.
Why Leaders Keep Fighting Losing Wars
- MacMillan says wars become harder to end once casualties mount because leaders frame further fighting as necessary to justify earlier sacrifice.
- She ties escalation to pride and leadership psychology, citing Vladimir Putin and Adolf Hitler as examples of refusing to admit failure.