An arms race is a competition between nations for superiority in the development and accumulation of weapons. It's particularly used for a nuclear arms race between US & USSR during the Cold War.
Cold War: A period of geopolitical tension between powers in the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union) and powers in the Western Bloc (the United States) after World War II.
Deterrence Theory: A military strategy whereby one power uses the threat of reprisal effectively to preclude an attack from another power.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD): A doctrine of military strategy where full-scale use of nuclear weapons by two opposing sides would cause the complete annihilation of both attacker and defender.
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