Nevertheless, the possibility of such a war became the basis for speculative fiction, and its simulation in books, films and video games became a way to explore the issues of a war that has thus far not occurred in reality. Strategic analysts assert that nuclear weapons prevented the United States and the Soviet Union from fighting World War III with conventional weapons. Various scientists and authors, such as Carl Sagan, predicted massive, possibly life-ending destruction of the Earth as the result of such a conflict. Weart called nuclear weapons a "symbol for the worst of modernity." ĭuring the Cold War, concepts such as mutually-assured destruction (MAD) led lawmakers and government officials in both the United States and the Soviet Union to avoid entering a nuclear war, which could have had catastrophic consequences for the entire world. The theme in the arts was also a way of exploring a range of issues far beyond nuclear war. There was a pervasive dread of a nuclear World War III, and popular culture reveals the fears of the public at the time. The presence of the Soviet Union as an international rival armed with nuclear weapons created a persistent fear in the United States and vice versa. Since the 1940s, countless books, films, and television programmes have used the theme of nuclear weapons and a third global war. World War III, sometimes abbreviated to WWIII, is a common theme in popular culture. See also: Nuclear holocaust in popular culture and List of nuclear holocaust fiction