Balance of terror
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The phrase "balance of terror" is usually, but not invariably,[1][2][3][4] used in reference to the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
During the Cold War
It describes the tenuous peace that existed between the two countries as a result of both governments being terrified at the prospect of a world-destroying
Some political scientists use this phrase as a means of differentiating the world situation that followed
The
In this counterintuitive way, the existence of the most powerful weapons ever created actually supported a kind of peace: while many wars were fought around the world during the Cold War, the superpowers never fought each other directly, nor have atomic bombs been dropped in war since the
Other uses
Lawrence Summers, after the financial meltdown of 2008, adopted the term as appropriate for the situation of a 'financial balance of terror' in global markets.[4]
Uses
- inaugural address in which he described the United States and the Soviet Union were "both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind's final war."[6]
- Albert Wohlstetter of the RAND Corporation wrote the paper "The Delicate Balance of Terror" in 1958.[7]
See also
- Balance of power
- Balance of power in international relations
- Balance of threat
- Deterrence theory
- Long Peace
- Mutual assured destruction
- Nuclear peace
- Peace through strength
- Reagan Doctrine
References
- ^ Amos Harel, 'ANALYSIS / The extreme right has sought to establish a 'balance of terror',' in Haaretz, 11 March 2008
- ^ Sharon Shpurer, 'Leumi's balance of terror,' Haaretz, 6 February 2009.
- ^ James Rickards, 'The new balance of financial terror,' Archived 2015-07-11 at the Wayback Machine Darien Times 14 March 2014.
- ^ a b Rich Miller, Simon Kennedy, 'G-20 Plans to End 'Financial Balance of Terror' After Summit,' Bloomberg 27 February 2009.
- ^ A. J. C. Edwards, Nuclear Weapons, the Balance of Terror, the Quest for Peace (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1986), p. 238n.
- ^ "John F. Kennedy: Inaugural Address. U.S. Inaugural Addresses. 1989". www.bartleby.com.
- ^ Wohlstetter, Albert (December 29, 1958). "The Delicate Balance of Terror". www.rand.org.