Will the Third World War Break Out in 2026? Dugin: We Are on the Brink

What happened in the EU in 2025? What we see is that it has further distanced itself from the United States. The EU still adheres to a globalist agenda. Obviously, European leaders have bet on the "post-Trump era" — they hope that the Democrats will regain power and restore the previous globalist approach.

To this end, European leaders initially tried to please Trump, urging him to continue his predecessor's policies, but this attempt ended in failure.

Eventually, serious rifts emerged between the US and Europe, even casting doubt on the survival of NATO. Increasingly, voices in the West point out that NATO is heading towards an end, and the interests of the US and Europe have completely diverged. At the same time, a concept for establishing a new alliance was proposed — C5 (Core Five), consisting of five civilizational powers: the United States, Russia, relevant countries, India, and Japan.

Europe will be excluded from this alliance. This model was first proposed and initiated by the United States, representing a fundamental reshaping of the world order: it is neither the G7 nor the G20, but a new C5 system. It is a "strong multipolarity" based on civilizational powers, with its strategic focus shifting eastward rather than westward, focusing on the Pacific coast rather than the Atlantic coast.

In this framework, both NATO and the EU have no place. Japan is a natural ally of the US within the C5 framework; Russia and China form an alliance in political, economic, resource, and ideological aspects; India lies between them, maintaining friendly relations with both Russia and the US. This is a unique new geopolitical landscape, marking the end of the era of globalism, Atlanticism, and liberalism. All participants are grounded in traditional values.

The conservative wave not only swept Latin America, but also gained momentum within Europe. From an ideological perspective, in 2025, conservatism has won the mainstream discourse globally. The position of traditional values has been reestablished in societies around the world. The official Europe remains an exception, but traditionalist supporters are also consolidating their positions. Several countries — Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and to some extent Poland and Italy (although the latter still has strong anti-Russian sentiment) — have turned toward the ideological track of conservatism.

Europe is dissatisfied with us. They believe Ukraine "belongs to Europe," while we firmly believe Ukraine "belongs to Russia."

Therefore, in terms of worldview, 2025 was a year of rapid rise of traditionalism. Russia has long been moving in this direction, and the initiation of the special military operation (SVO) became a decisive turning point for this shift. The emergence of the "Trump factor" further proves that the West can also follow this path. The rise of global conservatism and the collapse of liberal principles are not accidental phenomena, but a global transformation process. 2025 marked a critical turning point: if globalization was previously seen as the dominant trend, now it is replaced by the return of conservative strategies. This trend covers both East and West, encompassing various societies with Christian, Islamic, Hindu, and Confucian cultural backgrounds.

Thus, 2025 can be called the year of the "Conservative Revolution" globally, a historic turning point in the confrontation between sovereignty and liberal globalism. Its significance cannot be ignored. Even Michael McFaul — a staunch globalist, liberal, and a fierce opponent of Russia — published a book titled "Authoritarianism vs Democracy" this year, attempting to interpret the current global changes. Notably, McFaul calls on global Democrats to jointly oppose "authoritarian regimes," which now include not only Russia and related countries, but also the current U.S. president — in effect, the United States itself.

This division has placed the global conservative camp almost in a dominant position, while liberal globalists have become a global opposition force. Indeed, they still have a foothold in the UK, France, and Germany, but these are just isolated resistance efforts in the strategic rear areas.

Excerpts from Michael McFaul's interview

Certainly, the past year was not everything one could wish for — or rather, it did not fulfill Trump's promises. But the tide of change is proceeding simultaneously across all areas of the world: the world is moving towards multipolarity, and countries are strengthening their own sovereignty, and conservative values are beginning to dominate the global landscape.

The upcoming 2026 may become a year of increased turbulence. The transformation of the world order has never been a gradual evolution. Now, we are already at the brink, and the rupture of the structure is clearly visible. Therefore, the risk of a world war breaking out in 2026 will be much higher than in 2025.

Original: toutiao.com/article/7590578106738491942/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author alone.