nuclear deterrence
A political/military strategy where a country prevents attack by threatening nuclear retaliation. Used in security and international relations contexts.
Nuclear deterrence policy played an important role during the Cold War.
Maintaining a nuclear deterrent force costs a huge amount of money.
nuclear deterrent force
nuclear deterrent theory
Compound of 核 (kaku, 'nuclear') and 抑止 (yokushi, 'deterrence'). The term is a direct translation of the English 'nuclear deterrence' and became common in post-WWII security discourse.