Pope Francis alluded to how the 80th anniversary of D-Day, provided a chance to renew international commitments to security and peace. The Pope was concerned that the horrors of World War 2 were being forgotten, and that leaders and nations had become complacent about geopolitical solutions.

From the 1960s to 1990s, the United States and Soviet Union – Russia, periodically had meetings with high-level leaders taking active roles. These meetings between global adversaries bore geopolitical fruit. As a result, treaties were hammered out that helped calm the nerves of a world that still remembered the worst war in human history. It’s believed that around 70 million people died in WW2.

In addition, when President Nixon normalized relations with China in the 1970s, another geopolitical thaw occurred.

When we fast-forward to today, we find a world embroiled in wars that on a geopolitical scale – offer high risk. In addition, global hotspots – not currently at war, require monitoring. Ironically, high-level discussions between adversaries seem more rare now. Therefore, instead of finding common ground in the nuclear era, the stakes seem raised globally. As a result, some analysts feel the world may be closer to nuclear war than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

This political tension is reflected in the fact that the building of protective underground bunkers has come back into vogue. Sadly though…no one knows for sure what exactly will happen if even small-grade tactical nuclear weapons are used. Some fear that similar to the buildup to WW1, any nuclear exchange could reflexively lead to a triggering of tensions globally. If indeed nuclear weapons become used on any scale, the human and environmental consequences could be enormous. In addition…globally inspired political tensions could inspire a new proliferation of rival alliances between nations.

As current interest in the late atomic scientist Oppenheimer shows, many high-level leaders, thinkers, and scientists, were understandably alarmed at the destructive power of nuclear weapons after World War 2. To protect humanity, the globally connected economy, and the environment, it’s important to realize that modern use of nuclear weapons could reopen a Pandora’s box that may be harder now to control.

Although easy geopolitical answers to our current situation seem to elude us, it may be wise to heed the Pope’s warning.