The 6.8% increase between 2022 and 2023 was the steepest since 2009, pushing spending to the highest recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) in its 60-year history
For the first time, analysts at the thinktank recorded a rise in military outlay in all five geographical regions: Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania and the Americas.
Great powers have directly fought eachother in third locations on multiple occasions without nukes coming into play. Additionally, nukes are even less useful than they used to be, as advances in precision guided munitions have taken many of their cold war roles. There is no reason to think nuclear winter is the likely outcome.
We have been at proxy war for decades already. Whats the next escalation if not nuclear winter for at least PART of the globe?
It really does seem the most likely way TPTB will cull the proletariat once AI is siloed in their new bunkers tbeyve been building.
Then again, could be doomsday prepper scammers somehow got to the rich folks and scammed them too, in which case were prolly fine.