Jakarta. Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, better known as SBY, has issued a stark warning about the direction of global geopolitics, saying the world may be edging dangerously close to a third world war unless decisive collective action is taken.

In a post shared on X on Monday, SBY said years of closely observing international developments, particularly intensifying tensions in recent months, have left him deeply concerned that a “major global calamity” could unfold. Drawing on decades of experience studying geopolitics, international security, and the history of warfare, the former Indonesian leader warned that the risk of World War III is “very real,” even if it remains preventable.

SBY argued that current global conditions mirror those that preceded World War I and World War II, citing the rise of strongman leaders, rival military alliances, massive arms buildups — including preparations of war economies — and increasingly heated geopolitical rivalries. History, he said, shows that despite clear warning signs, the international community has often failed to act in time to stop catastrophic wars.

Recent flashpoints have pointed out such tensions. In Venezuela, US military actions and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro have deepened international unease, drawing widespread criticism from regional governments and complicating relations among global powers. Moreover, tensions surrounding Greenland have intensified after US threats to assert control over the strategic Arctic island, including tariffs on European allies and concerns over territorial sovereignty, raising alarm in NATO capitals and global markets.

“If a world war breaks out, a total war involving nuclear weapons,  global destruction would be unavoidable,” SBY wrote, pointing to studies estimating potential casualties of more than five billion people and the collapse of civilization itself. He stressed that prayer alone would not be enough to avert such a disaster without concrete efforts by nations to safeguard the future of humanity.

The former president called on the United Nations to take the initiative by convening an emergency session of the UN General Assembly, urging world leaders to agree on tangible steps to prevent a large-scale global crisis, including the possibility of a new world war. While acknowledging that the UN currently lacks real power, SBY warned against allowing history to record the organization as having stood by and “done nothing” in the face of looming danger.

Quoting the ideas of Edmund Burke and Albert Einstein, SBY concluded that the destruction of the world would not be caused solely by evil actors, but by good people who choose to remain silent. “Even if it feels like shouting into the desert,” he wrote, “it could still mark the beginning of awareness, resolve, and real action to save the world we love.”