atomic diplomacy

Atomic diplomacy refers to the strategy used during the Cold War where nuclear weapons were employed as a means of influencing international relations. It involved threatening or demonstrating the destructive power of atomic bombs to deter or coerce adversaries, aiming to prevent conflict through the fear of devastating retaliation. This approach was exemplified by the United States and the Soviet Union, whose stockpiles of nuclear arms created a tense balance known as mutually assured destruction, where both sides understood that any nuclear attack would result in catastrophic retaliation, thus maintaining a fragile peace.