If it is nuclear war you are concerned about, then get out of any area that might be a target. Move to some extremely isolated region that has what you need to survive. The signs of impending nuclear war would be moving up the steps of what Herman Kahn called the “escalation ladder.” If multiple nuclear-armed nation-states put their nuclear forces on high alert, and it looks like any incident could spark a shooting war, then things are getting serious. But when it comes to nuclear war, by that time it is too late to set yourself up far from the dangers in a sustainable homestead.

There are some posts below that have spoken about the government and military actions that tell you war is imminent, but what about the social context? Here are some signs that have led up to wars throughout history based on societal action, rather than anything specifically involving the military:

1. A general division between society and government. The government wants to go one way, most of society goes a different direction. This has happened dozens of times, and seems to be the top sign, though there are plenty of times that this didn’t happen.
2. A general division within the governing power regarding favor toward an outside power. Again, this doesn’t happen every time, but seems to be a general tendency. When there are those in power who favor foreign assistance over domestic self-sufficiency, it opens the door to things like invasion. But there are times when we should accept foreign assistance, especially if our self-sufficiency isn’t happening. But in general, if we can do something ourselves, we should.
3. A general division within the population. Greater polarization and extremism generally precedes war. We have a bunch of ultra-conservatives and ultra-liberals in the US, for example, who only add hatred of some political party or another to the mix in order to retain control. They also add the “if you’re not for us, you’re against us” as a mentality over time, and this furthers the division between groups until they’re frothing at the mouth and killing one another. This has happened in history both with and without a war following. But in the case of civil war, this is one of the most predominant signs that it’s getting closer.
4. Jingoism. When people are both aggressively nationalist and warlike, this is what we call jingoism. This sets the foundation for governmental policy to become increasingly hostile against foreign powers, and increases the tendency to go to war. It can also lead up to civil incidents that can lay the foundation for a civil war.
5. Propaganda. A lot of the news media in the free world are privately owned, but are predisposed to “yellow journalism” (e.g., sensationalizing or exaggerating the drama in a news story so that it sells more). When official news sources do this, we call it propaganda. When the news reports only the government’s official stories, this is a situation in which control of information has begun, and in general this is common in countries where an invasion is possible.
6. Sound of silence. If a government suddenly stops talking to the people, it’s a really good sign that there is something happening behind the scenes that is taking up everyone’s time. This doesn’t include press agents, whose job is to talk to the public. It does mean that the political process suddenly opaques, and that top-level politicians are suddenly unavailable for comment, usually for several weeks or months. And if the flow of information stops completely, it’s a stronger sign that something is amiss. Consider this as the opposite extreme to propaganda.

What can you do to give yourself more chance of survival before the actual attacks and fights happen?

If you’re concerned about low-level civil strife that might grow and become pervasive, ultimately resulting in societal collapse, once again you’d be best off by getting far away from large cities, military targets, and any high-value infrastructure. With civil strife you have a bit more warning, but your best chance of survival is to move to a very small town in a mostly rural area—the kind of place that doesn’t welcome outsiders—and live there for enough years that you are eventually accepted by the locals as being one of them. Tightly knit communities of this kind will support each other rather than turning on each other; this will not be true in large cities with multi-ethnic populations.

Your best protection is in a community of like-minded people, because no individual (and no individual family) could remain constantly vigilant under conditions of the collapse of civil society. If you can find such a community, settle in and learn how to live off the land. Learn how to farm and how to hunt. Learn how to fix your own machinery, and try to narrow your possessions down to what you can repair and maintain on your own.

If you stock up supplies without arming yourself, all you’re doing is stockpiling it for someone else who will kill you and take it for themselves. Living in a community is the best way to protect yourself from this kind of lawlessness, but the community will have to arm itself and guard itself, or it will be at the mercy of marauders.

If you can’t find a sustainable community before things start going downhill, you might consider either finding an extremely isolated spot where no one will mess with you, or going mobile. Be prepared to hit the road and defend yourself and to keep yourself moving, because getting the hell out of the way of the problem can sometimes be your best bet. You’ll have to learn to hide, because eventually you’ll have to sleep, and when you sleep you’re vulnerable. This is a temporary solution, but if you think that there will be disruption followed by things calming down again, it’s a good choice.

As with the other answers to this question, learn as much as you can learn now. learn survival skills. This is not only for your own sake, but also to be a valuable member of a stable community that might allow you to join them if you are sufficiently valuable and resourceful. Having a bunch of valuable stuff isn’t nearly as good, because it can be taken from you. Your knowledge can’t be taken from you.

There is an enormous literature on end of the world scenarios. I suggest reading some of this and, as you’re reading them, ask yourself what you would do in these circumstances. For a few hints of this literature, look at Alas, Babylon! The Stand. Lucifer’s Hammer. The “World Made By Hand” novels. These are some of the grittiest and most realistic I can think of.

By accessing www.whatfinger.com you can stay up to date with the latest news and more! So I invite you to their page with hundreds of articles posted daily!