Mutually Assured Destruction

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) is a military strategy from the Cold War where two opposing sides, armed with nuclear weapons, ensure that any attack would lead to their own destruction as well. This creates a deterrent effect: if one side launches a nuclear strike, the other will retaliate with equal or greater force, leading to catastrophic consequences for both. The idea is that the fear of total annihilation prevents either side from initiating a conflict, thus maintaining a tense but stable peace, as no rational actor would want to trigger their own destruction.