War Is a Growing Concern Across Europe

VE Day, or Victory in Europe Day, is celebrated on May 8 each year to mark the formal end of World War II in Europe. On this day in 1945, Allied forces accepted the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany, bringing nearly six years of brutal conflict in Europe to a close. The day is commemorated to honor the courage and sacrifice of those who fought and died during the war, and to celebrate the return of peace to the continent. Today, on the 80th anniversary of VE Day, that peace suddenly seems fragile, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the crumbling transatlantic alliance have rattled Europe’s long-lasting sense of security.

With the United States under Donald Trump no longer seen as a reliable partner and Putin’s Russia posing an unpredictable threat, concerns about possible military conflicts have risen across Europe. According to Ipsos’ monthly What Worries the World report, more and more Europeans fear the prospect of war, naming it among the top three concerns their country is currently facing. As our chart shows, those concerns are particularly widespread in Poland, which is not a surprise given its border with Ukraine and proximity to the war that has been raging on for more than three years now.

But growing concern about military conflicts isn’t limited to Eastern Europe, with the Netherlands, Germany and France also seeing significant increases in the share of respondents who picked war as a top 3 concern. Looking beyond Europe, fears of war are less widespread in other parts of the world, with an average of 12 percent of respondents naming it a top concern across 29 countries. Interestingly, armed conflict is not a major concern for people in South America, with less than five percent of respondents in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Argentina and Peru naming war as a top concern.