What is the ‘logic of deterrence’?.Describe

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‘The Cold War – inspite of being an intense form of rivalary between great powers — remained a cold and not hot or shooting war’. Explain.

The Cold War was an outcome of the emergence of the US and the USSR as superpowers rival to each other. However, both the powers knew that the destruction caused by atom bomb is difficult to bear by any country. Thus inspite of provocations, neither side wanted to risk war for any political gains. They also knew that in case of a nuclear war both sides will be harmed very badly and it will not be possible to declare any one as the winner. All the nuclear weapons of a country cannot be destroyed and every country will be left with some weapons that will be sufficient to inflict unacceptable destruction. This is called the logic of deferrence - that both sides have the capacity to retaliate against an attack and to cause so much destruction that neither can afford to initiate war. Thus, the Cold War remained a cold and not hot or shooting war. The deterrence relationship prevents war but not the rivalry between the powers.