Mutual Assured Destruction
The doctrine that neither side in a nuclear rivalry can rationally strike first if both possess a survivable second-strike capability guaranteeing catastrophic retaliation — mutual destruction is assured, so a first strike is self-defeating, and paradoxically both sides are made safer by both possessing weapons capable of annihilating the other. Critiqued by proponents of NUTS (nuclear utilization target selection), who argued for limited, controlled nuclear options rather than only all-or-nothing mutual annihilation.