History Main / PreventTheWar

* This is the plot of ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book ''Literature/{{Jingo}}''. Ankh-Morpork and Klatch begin preparing for war over their respective claims to [[SillyReasonForWar a tiny island that rises up from the sea randomly]], and Vimes and Vetinari are on their own separate paths to preventing it. Their plans work with only minimal loss of life, but there are glimpses of another timeline where [[ForWantOfANail Vimes stayed put and Ankh-Morpork was invaded]].

If the characters are trying to prevent a historical war, there can be overlap with YouCantFightFate and YouCantThwartStageOne (unless it's an AlternateHistory). Another popular plot during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar was to stop the West and USSR from starting WorldWarThree, or AvoidingTheGreatWar in the case of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. UsefulNotes/WorldWarII is less prone to this trope because of HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct -- but also, to prevent World War I also keeps World War II from ever happening.

If there aren't any villains out to incite and really want war, then it's likely a morality play about how even good people can act foolish and be suckered into war. In such cases, the provocation itself might not even be a slight or offense, it could be a pair of StarCrossedLovers from each side choosing to elope (and each side assuming the other one kidnapped their lover), a natural resource about to run out (and neither side wants to share), or a [[PoorCommunicationKills misunderstanding.]]

If the characters are trying to prevent a historical war, there can be overlap with YouCantFightFate and YouCantThwartStageOne (unless it's an AlternateHistory). Another popular plot during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar was to stop the West and USSR from starting WorldWarThree, or AvoidingTheGreatWar in the case of UsefulNotes/WorldWarI. UsefulNotes/WorldWarII is less prone to this trope because of HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct -- but to prevent World War I also keeps World War II from ever happening.

->''"This is a scale model of war! Every war ever fought right there in front of you! Because it's always the same! When you fire that first shot, no matter how right you feel, you have no idea who's going to die! You don't know whose children are going to scream and burn! How many hearts will be broken! How many lives shattered! How much blood will spill until everybody does what they were always going to have to do from the very beginning: '''''SIT DOWN AND TALK!'''''"''

If there aren't any villains out to incite and really want war, then it's likely a morality play about how even good people can act foolish and go to war. In such cases, the provocation itself might not even be a slight or offense, it could be a pair of StarCrossedLovers from each side choosing to elope (and each side assuming the other one kidnapped their lover), a natural resource about to run out (and neither side wants to share), or a [[PoorCommunicationKills misunderstanding.]]

If the characters are trying to prevent a historical war, there can be overlap with YouCantFightFate and YouCantThwartStageOne (unless it's an AlternateHistory). Another popular plot during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar was to stop the West and USSR from starting WorldWarThree, or AvoidingTheGreatWar in the case of WWI. UsefulNotes/WorldWarII is less prone to this trope because of HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct.

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[[folder:Film - Live-Action]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]

** Several stories, especially "Frontier In Space", in which the Master is trying to start a war between the Earth and Draconian Empires [[spoiler:so that the Daleks can attack both when they're exhausted.]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', the band books a gig in Syria on the same day as their gig in Israel. Tensions rise between the two countries and the other countries of the world fear this could potentially even cause a third World War. Luckily, Charles Foster Offdenson saves the day using giant holographic technology and snow cones.

%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!

-->-- '''The Doctor''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Zygon Inversion"

No one wants a war; WarIsHell, after all. Yet there's always someone out to start a war, leaving it to the heroes to stop hostilities from escalating. The factions can be anything from galactic empires down to street gangs. They might have originally been allies or begrudgingly upholding a tense peace. Usually there's a villain who wants to start a WarForFunAndProfit and sets out to trick the factions with a manufactured PretextForWar. Sometimes a leader or member of one of the factions is a GeneralRipper who wants there to be war to prove a point or for patriotism. Other times, a BloodKnight, a [[TheWarlord Warlord]], or a ProudWarriorRaceGuy will actively incite wars [[WarIsGlorious for the sake of their war-loving culture and glory]]. In the worst cases, the entirety of both factions is filled up with people raring to fight, and only the efforts of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and the heroes is holding the peace. And sometimes, a nation supported by entirely ArmsDealer and war economy would demand more wars.

If there aren't any villains out to incite war, then it's likely a morality play about how even good people can act foolish and go to war. In such cases, the provocation itself might not even be a slight or offense, it could be a pair of StarCrossedLovers from each side choosing to elope (and each side assuming the other one seduced or kidnapped their lover), a natural resource about to run out (and neither side wants to share), or a [[PoorCommunicationKills misunderstanding.]]

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/48294/After-The-War---Luna-Aeternal Luna Aeternal]]'': The story revolves around Twilight and Princess Luna going to a human moonbase to sign a peace treaty, meanwhile a [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily joint taskforce composed of genocidal racists of both species intends to cause a terrorist attack that will ruin any chances of it happening.]]

* In ''Comicbook/SinCity'' (as well as the [[Film/SinCity film version]]), Dwight has to cover up the death of a CorruptCop to avoid a war between the police and the girls of Old Town. The event is being orchestrated by a local come lord, since the war with the cops will leave Old Town vulnerable to a takeover by his forces.

* [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/48294/After-The-War---Luna-Aeternal Luna Aeternal]]: The story revolves around Twilight and Princess Luna going to a human moonbase to sign a peace treaty, meanwhile a [[EvilIsOneBigHappyFamily joint taskforce composed of genocidal racists of both species intends to cause a terrorist attack that will ruin any chances of it happening.]]

* Naturally, given it's a PeggySue fic set in the world of ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'', this is Byleth's main goal in ''Fanfic/FireEmblemThreeHousesFifthPath.''

[[folder:Film]]
* The film version of ''Film/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' has the heroes tasked by the British Government with stopping the villain's plot to destabilize European geopolitics and starting a war. It's revealed at the end that he's doing it to boost his arms sales.
* ''Film/TomorrowNeverDies'' has Bond and Chinese agent Wai Lin try to stop a media mogul from manipulating the United Kingdom and China into war for better ratings and exclusive media rights in the latter.
** This is actually a recurring plot in the Bond movie franchise. The first time it appears is in ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice,'' before being repeated in ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' and ''Tomorrow Never Dies''. In the first film, the villain is trying to provoke a war between the United States and the Soviet Union, for the benefit of his employers (implied to be Red China) who hope to dominate the world once the superpowers have destroyed themselves. In the second film, the villain is an EcoTerrorist trying to provoke a nuclear war that will destroy civilization, so that he can rebuild it to his own specifications.

* At one point in ''Film/{{Troy}}'' Helen says she would rather go back to her husband Menelaus, whom she didn't love, than stay in Troy and risk war and loss of life. Paris even suggested a duel with Menelaus as this was (theoretically) a personal quarrel. Both were refuted by Hector and Priam since Agamemnon, Menelaus' brother, was using Helen's cuckoldry of Menelaus as a PretextForWar. They let Paris try his duel though insisted Helen stay. Agamemnon told Menelaus to accept, because it would give him personal satisfaction and they'd attack the city regardless.
* In ''Film/{{Timequest}}'' involves saving the life of President [[UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy John F. Kennedy]], who pulls the US out of [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]]. Vice President [[UsefulNotes/LyndonJohnson Lyndon Johnson]] (who in reality escalated the war as President) has a fit that JFK will look like a "Communist appeaser" but Kennedy is adamant that no war be waged. Kennedy had been shown the future by the Time Traveler that had saved his life, so he had a chance to correct history.

* ''WesternAnimation/GulliversTravels'' (1939). The kingdoms of Lilliput and Blefuscu are on a path to war. Gulliver must find a way to stop the war before it destroys both countries.

* ''Film/JackStrong'' has preventing WorldWarIII as his primary motivation for working with the CIA.
* ''Film/TheHuntForRedOctober'' plays with this. The U.S. Navy believes that this is [[WrongGenreSavvy what they're trying to do]], having been told by the Kremlin that the titular submarine is commanded by a [[RenegadeRussian rogue officer]] who intends to fire nuclear missiles at the United States. In reality, [[spoiler:he's trying to defect to the United States, and much of the film revolves around the protagonist's efforts to convince the Navy of this]]. (Note that the novel averts this plot entirely. The U.S. government comes to the right conclusion almost immediately: their main dilemma is what to do about it).
* In ''Film/TheDeadZone'', Johnny has a psychic vision that up-and-coming politician Greg Stillson will one day become US president and deliberately start WorldWarThree ("The missiles are flying, gentlemen. Hallelujah."). The plot revolves around Johnny grappling with this knowledge and the responsibility it places on him. In one key scene, he discusses HitlersTimeTravelExemptionAct with his friend, Dr. Weizak, who is a Holocaust survivor.
-->'''Johnny''': If you could travel back in time, say, to Germany, before Hitler came to power, what would you do? Would you kill him?\\
'''Weizak''': Johnny, you must know that... I love people. And as a doctor, I am expected to save lives. So naturally, I would have no choice... but to kill the son of a bitch. ''(raises his drink)'' Do svidaniya.
** Ultimately, Johnny decides to [[spoiler: assassinate Stillson to prevent his visions from coming true. He fails, but Stillson's reaction - using a child as a human shield - kills his political chances. A final vision shows that Stillson will commit suicide not long after.]]
* ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'': The theatrical film opens with the two heroes, Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, arriving on a space station to negotiate a peace between the spaceship's owner and the planet it orbits. As soon as gas start pumping into the waiting room, the heroes grab their weapons and leave diplomacy behind for the rest of the movie.
* In ''Film/AceVenturaWhenNatureCalls'', a white bat that's considered sacred by two African tribes is stolen, and Ace is tasked with finding and returning the bat before the two tribes go to war and slaughter each other. [[spoiler: It turns out that the man responsible for this situation wants both tribes out of the way so he can access their sacred caves and harvest bat guano, which can fetch ''obscene'' amounts of money in the nitrate industry.]]

* In both the book and film versions of ''Literature/TheSumOfAllFears'', the villains are attempting to provoke a war between the USA and the Russians by detonating a nuclear bomb at the Super Bowl, and by instigating another attack; in the book, East Germans disguised as Russian commanders get the Russian tanks to fire at the American tanks near Berlin, in the movie, a well-bribed Russian air force general instructs his air wing to attack a US aircraft carrier. Jack Ryan and John Clark have to find out what really happened before one side starts nuking the other.
* In ''Literature/TheElenium'', [[spoiler:after Sparhawk destroys Azash, the heroes are at pains to prevent King Wargun from launching a genocidal war against Zemoch anyway, despite the Zemochs being entirely nonthreatening without the lash of their dark god.]]
* Smaller-scale than some of these examples, but early in the ''[[Literature/TheBelgariad Malleoreon]]'' Garion gets to bully two armies into going home and not (potentially) starting a civil war.
* In the first ''Literature/RiversOfLondon'' book the B-Plot is that the two AnthropomorphicPersonifications of the Thames, and their families, are gearing up to go toe-to-toe with each other (with the implication that it will be very unpleasant for everyone living in the Thames valley, estuary, and catchment area) and our heroes need to find a way to force a truce.

* This is the plot of Literature/{{Discworld}} book ''Literature/{{Jingo}}''. Ankh-Morpork and Klatch begin preparing for war over their respective claims to [[SillyReasonForWar a tiny island that rises up from the sea randomly]], and Vimes and Vetinari are on their own separate paths to preventing it. Their plans work with only minimal loss of life, but there are glimpses of another timeline where [[ForWantOfANail Vimes stayed put and Ankh-Morpork was invaded]].

* Throughout the first season on ''Series/MobCity'', Stax, an AmoralAttorney for the Mob, tries to prevent the situation in Los Angeles from escalating into a MobWar. He invokes PragmaticVillainy to convince rival mobsters to not hurt the patrons and staff at a casino run by Mickey Cohen and later arranges a sit-down between Cohen and rival mob boss Dragna where they agree to a temporary peace. However, his efforts seem to be for naught when at the end of the season [[spoiler: Teague kills Ben 'Bugsy' Siegel]] and a massive power vacuum opens up.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' had a treaty with the Cardassians after a bloody conflict. However several Federation colonists were left in [[TheNeutralZone DMZ]] and at the tender mercies of their Cardassian neighbors. Soon tensions escalated into an all out war between the colonists.

* The first season of ''Series/{{The 100}}'' has several violent skirmishes between the 100 and the Grounders whose territory they've landed, motivating Finn to arrange a meeting between Clarke and the Grounders' leader to discuss a peaceful resolution. However, the peace talks collapse because both Clarke and the Grounders' leader expected the meeting to be a trap, and so they both had gunmen or archers hiding just outside the peace conference. When those soldiers spot each other, the shooting starts, and the Grounders declare an all-out war of extermination on the 100.

* ''TabletopGame/InNomine'' supplement ''The Final Trumpet''. Two Demon Princes are trying to start a war between Heaven and Hell before its appointed time. The {{PC}}s' job is to stop them from succeeding. If they fail, Armageddon will occur.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Eberron}}'' has a suggested hook in the "Forge of War" sourcebook that the players could either travel through time or play characters at the beginning of the Last War, and thereby attempt to prevent it.

* While the initial task of the protagonist of Creator/{{Nival}}'s ''Hammer & Sickle'' (a sequel to ''VideoGame/SilentStorm'') is to infiltrate West Germany in order to form LaResistance and work against the Western Allies, he/she quickly discovers that a secret organization is running {{False Flag Operation}}s to turn the UsefulNotes/ColdWar into WorldWarThree. The same organization was the enemy in ''Silent Storm'', selling advanced weapons to the Allies and the Axis during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII in order to get both sides to devastate one another and take what's left.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfHeroesTrailsOfColdSteel III & IV'', the biggest objective of the main characters is to prevent the execution of Operation Jormungandr, the Erebonian Empire's ultimate plan to launch a full-scale invasion of the Republic of Calvard that will end up getting almost every country on the continent involved and igniting a world war. [[spoiler: The war does end up kicking off, but thanks to the efforts of our heroes, a ceasefire is called after only 24 hours of fighting.]]

* ''RolePlay/WeAreAllPokemonTrainers''

* In ''{{WesternAnimation/Metalocalypse}}'', the band books a gig in Syria on the same day as their gig in Israel. Tensions rise between the two countries and the other countries of the world fear this could potentially even cause a third World War. Luckily, Charles Foster Offdenson saves the day using giant holographic technology and snow cones.

No one wants a war; WarIsHell, after all. Yet there's always someone out to start a war, leaving it to the heroes to stop hostilities from escalating. The factions can be anything from galactic empires down to street gangs. They might have originally been allies or begrudgingly upholding a tense peace. Usually there's a villain who wants to start a WarForFunAndProfit and sets out to trick the factions with a manufactured PretextForWar. Sometimes a leader or member of one of the factions is a GeneralRipper who wants there to be war to prove a point or for patriotism. Other times, a BloodKnight or a ProudWarriorRaceGuy would actively incite wars [[WarIsGlorious for the sake of their war-loving culture and glory]]. In the worst cases, the entirety of both factions is filled up with people raring to fight, and only the efforts of a ReasonableAuthorityFigure and the heroes is holding the peace. And sometimes, a nation supported by entirely ArmsDealer and war economy would demand more wars.

* In ''Literature/WarriorCats'' [=WindClan=] and [=ThunderClan=] nearly go to war over three missing [=WindClan=] kits, and Hollypaw, Lionpaw, Jaypaw, Breezepaw and Heatherpaw team up to rescue them from the tunnels and bring them back in time to stop the battle.

[[folder:Comics]]

-->--'''The Doctor''', ''Series/DoctorWho'', "The Zygon Inversion"

* Naturally, given it's a ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'' PeggySue fic, this is Byleth's main goal in ''Fanfic/FireEmblemThreeHousesFifthPath.''

* In ''WesternAnimation/Metalocalypse'', the band books a gig in Syria on the same day as their gig in Israel. Tensions rise between the two countries and the other countries of the world fear this could potentially even cause a third World War. Luckily, Charles Foster Offdenson saves the day using giant holographic technology and snow cones.