Cuban Missile Crisis
Definition
The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962) was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union initiated by American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba.
Analogy
This is like two people standing face-to-face, both holding water guns filled with paint. Neither wants to get splashed, but neither wants to put their gun down first either.
Related terms
Nuclear Arms Race: Competition for supremacy in nuclear warfare between the United States, the Soviet Union, and their respective allies during the Cold War. It's like an intense race where competitors keep trying to outdo each other with more powerful weapons.
Brinkmanship: The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, typically in politics. It's like playing a game of chicken, where each side pushes the other to see who will back down first.
Cold War: A period of political and military tension between Western powers led by the United States and Eastern Bloc led by the Soviet Union from 1947-1991.
"Cuban Missile Crisis" appears in:
Study guides (2)
Practice Questions (11)
Who led USSR during Cuban Missile Crisis ?
Which event can be seen as a direct result of the Cuban Missile Crisis?
What connects the Berlin Airlift of 1948 to the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, from a broader Cold War perspective?
How did the Cuban Missile Crisis affect NATO's strategic defense policy?
Who led Soviet Union during Cuban Missile Crisis?
What was one major outcome of the Cuban missile crisis?
What was the immediate cause of the Cuban Missile Crisis within the context of Cold War Europe?
Who led Russia during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Who led Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
Who led the Soviet Union during the Cuban Missile Crisis?
When was the Cuban Missile Crisis that brought U.S. and Soviet Union to brink of nuclear conflict?
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