<P> Brinkmanship is the ostensible escalation of threats to achieve one's aims . The word was probably coined by Adlai Stevenson in his criticism of the philosophy described as "going to the brink" in an interview with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles under the Eisenhower administration, during the Cold War . In an article written in Life Magazine, John Foster Dulles then defined his policy of brinkmanship as "The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art ." During the Cold War, this was used as a policy by the United States to coerce the Soviet Union into backing down militarily . Eventually, the threats involved might become so huge as to be unmanageable at which point both sides are likely to back down . This was the case during the Cold War; the escalation of threats of nuclear war, if carried out, are likely to lead to mutually assured destruction . </P> <P> For brinkmanship to be effective, the sides continuously escalate their threats and actions . However, a threat is ineffective unless credible--at some point, an aggressive party may have to prove its commitment to action . </P> <P> The chance of things sliding out of control is often used in itself as a tool of brinkmanship, because it can provide credibility to an otherwise incredible threat . The Cuban Missile Crisis presents an example in which opposing leaders, namely U.S. president John F. Kennedy and Russian Leader Nikita Khrushchev, continually issued warnings, with increasing force, about impending nuclear exchanges, without necessarily validating their statements . Pioneering game theorist Thomas Schelling called this "the threat that leaves something to chance ." </P> <P> The British intellectual Bertrand Russell compared nuclear brinkmanship to the game of chicken . The principle between the two is the same, to create immense pressure in a situation until one person or party backs down, or both are annihilated . </P>

How was the cuban missile crisis an example of brinkmanship