Brinkmanship

Brinkmanship is a strategy of escalating a confrontation to the point of apparent danger to force an opponent to concede. It relies on the threat that events may slip beyond either side’s control.

Coercive diplomacy: The use of threats or limited force to persuade an adversary to change its behavior. Brinkmanship is a coercive diplomatic strategy that pressures an opponent without immediately seeking full-scale war.
John Foster Dulles: U.S. secretary of state from 1953 to 1959 under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Dulles publicly described the administration’s willingness to take risks as a way to resist communist expansion.
Cuban Missile Crisis: The 1962 confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba. The crisis brought both superpowers close to nuclear war before they reached a negotiated settlement.
Appeasement: A policy of granting concessions to an aggressor in an effort to prevent conflict. Appeasement yields to demands, whereas brinkmanship seeks concessions by raising the cost of refusal.
Deterrence theory: The theory that threats can prevent an action by making its expected costs unacceptable. Brinkmanship uses threatened escalation to deter an opponent from holding its position.
New Look (policy): The Eisenhower administration’s 1950s national-security policy emphasizing nuclear deterrence and lower conventional-defense costs. Its reliance on threatened retaliation gave brinkmanship strategic relevance during the Cold War.
Berlin Crisis of 1958–1961: A Cold War confrontation over Berlin that culminated in the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961. Threats and military demonstrations raised the stakes over access to and control of Berlin.
Compellence: The use of threats or force to make an adversary take an action or reverse a decision. Brinkmanship is one way to pursue compellence, but the broader concept also includes less risky methods.
Credible threat: A threat an opponent believes its maker is both able and willing to carry out. The opponent must believe escalation is possible, even when neither side wants the worst outcome.
Cold War: The prolonged geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies, beginning after World War II. The strategy’s modern reputation formed amid the nuclear rivalry between the superpowers.

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