Poll finds growing fears of World War III across western countries

Voters across major Western democracies increasingly believe the world is heading toward a third world war, according to a new opinion poll published by Politico.

An explosion occurs on a vessel during what the U.S. military says was a kinetic strike on a suspected drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean, at an unidentified location in this screen grab obtained from a video released on February 13, 2026.

Photo: US Southern Command/Handout via REUTERS

The survey, conducted among voters in the United States, Britain, Canada, France and Germany, found that a majority see the global situation as increasingly dangerous and consider a world war within the next five years likely. Politico reported that since similar polling began in March 2025, “the share of voters predicting a new global conflict has risen sharply.”

“The shift in Western public opinion over less than a year reflects a rapid move toward an uncertain world, in which war is seen as likely and alliances as unstable,” said Seb Wride, head of polling at Public First, which conducted the research.

Western countries increasingly believe the world is heading toward a global war, according to results from The POLITICO Poll.https://t.co/R7DUhuAfq0

— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) February 13, 2026

The poll also points to limited public willingness to accept sacrifices tied to higher defense spending. While voters in France, Canada, Britain and Germany broadly support boosting military budgets, backing “drops sharply when people learn it could mean higher public debt, cuts to other services or tax increases,” Politico reported.

Wride said the findings show that “growing fears of war are not matched by a mandate for leaders to spend large sums on defense,” adding that voters are “less willing to make the compromises needed to improve military security.”

Concern about a large-scale conflict was highest in the United States, where 46% of respondents said a world war was “likely” or “very likely,” up 8 percentage points from last year. In Britain, 43% shared that view. Germany was the only country surveyed where a majority did not see a real risk of world war in the next five years.

At least one-third of respondents in the U.S., Britain, France and Canada said they believe nuclear weapons are “likely” or “very likely” to be used in a war within five years. In Europe, Russia was most often cited as the greatest threat to peace, while Canadians most frequently pointed to the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. In France, Germany and Britain, the United States ranked second as a perceived threat, ahead of China.

The online survey was conducted Feb. 6–9 among 10,289 adults, with results in each country weighted to be nationally representative. The margin of error was plus or minus 2 percentage points per country.

(jh)

Source: Politico, Polish Radio