<P> The domino theory was a theory prominent from the 1950s to the 1980s that posited that if one country in a region came under the influence of communism, then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect . The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War to justify the need for American intervention around the world . </P> <P> U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower described the theory during an April 7, 1954, news conference, when referring to communism in Indochina: </P>

What is the domino theory in the cold war