MAD; mutual assured destruction
Cold War strategic doctrine where a full-scale nuclear attack by one superpower would be met with an overwhelming nuclear counterattack, resulting in the complete annihilation of both. Used in political, military, and historical contexts.
See also: 相互確証破壊
It is said that during the Cold War, the concept of MAD deterred nuclear war.
Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is the idea that balance is maintained when both sides have the ability to reliably destroy the other.