Is the world on the brink of a third nuclear age?

According to CNN on December 6, the head of the UK armed forces warned that the world is on the brink of a third nuclear age.

“The world has changed. Global power is shifting, and the third nuclear age is upon us,” Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said in a December 5 lecture at the Royal United Services Institute in the UK.

Admiral Radakin warned that this era is “entirely more complex” than previous ones. The first era, he explained, was the Cold War, while the current one is defined by disarmament efforts.

According to Radakin, in this third nuclear age, the world is "at dawn", "defined by multiple simultaneous dilemmas, increased nuclear technology and destructive technologies, and the almost complete absence of previous security architectures".

Admiral Radakin said that the Russia-Ukraine conflict and many conflicts in the Middle East have upset global stability.

He said that information about North Korea deploying troops to the Russia-Ukraine border was the "most unusual development" of the year.

In November 2024, Russia updated its nuclear doctrine, just two days after US President Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russian territory with US-made long-range weapons.

However, Admiral Radakin believes that the scenario of Russia attacking NATO is only "very small possibility", because they know that "the response will be very strong, whether with conventional or nuclear weapons".

“NATO’s deterrence strategy has worked,” the British chief of staff said. “But it must be maintained and enhanced to counter a more dangerous Russia.”

According to Admiral Radakin, global insecurity is dividing the world into three groups. One group is countries "seeking to challenge global rules", including Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

The second group is “responsible states”, which mainly includes democracies, but also Gulf monarchies and other states “committed to cooperating and maintaining stability and security in the world”, he continued.

The third group includes countries that "always weigh and dodge between the two sides to gain maximum advantage".

NATO countries must maintain an advantage over their opponents in order to defeat them, Mr. Radakin added.

Additionally, Mr. Radakin said, in October 2024 an Israeli attack on Iran would destroy Tehran's ballistic missile production capabilities for a year and "destroy almost all of Iran's air defense system.

“In this sense, Russia is showing us how not to fight. And Israel, in its response to Iran, has shown us the disproportionate advantage of modern methods of fighting,” Admiral Radakin said.