OT or Not OT: Twilight 2030

[Raellus]

Or thereabouts. No, as far as I'm aware, a new reincarnation of our beloved military-themed, post-apocalyptic RPG isn't in the works. The recent drama in Ukraine has, however, created fertile ground for entertaining the worrying possibility of another major war. Although I love the classic, alternate history flavor of the original Twilight 2000, sometimes I get a hankering to bring current and near future gear and geopolitical issues into the post-apocalyptic, neo-dark ages of the T2K milieu. So I thought we could discuss possible future scenarios that might get us there. Let's start with potential global flashpoints and/or recent worrying developments.

• Russia vs. NATO (over Ukraine)
• No-Ko acting out vs. South Korea and its allies (again)
• India vs. Pakistan (again)
• The Middle East (always)
• China flexing its military muscle in Asia and the Pacific (no one's forgotten about Taiwan)
• Japan's recent lean to the right (again) and remilitarization
• An economic/political break-down of the EU
• Ethnic/religious violence in Africa (constantly)

Let's also add to that...

• the increasing odds of a global pandemic- something echoing the rampage of the Spanish Flu in 1918-'19
• Global Warming (whatever the cause) and related competition over resources
• Chances of another global economic meltdown
• Spectacular acts of terrorism
• Massive natural disaster with global impact (think Krakatoa)

These have all been likely suspects for a while now. Am I missing anything that needs to be factored in?

Anyone care to take a stab at a Universal Theory of the Causes of WWIII incorporating all of the above? I'd prefer not to explore conspiracy theories (e.g. the Illuminati and One World Government), or sci-fi, or supernatural factors at this point; we can delve into that later, if any of you care to go there.

What else would you like to see in a future iteration of Twilight 2000?

Discuss.