Containment was about steady and coordinated action to achieve maximum results while avoiding direct conflict.
Brinkmanship was about deliberately creating tense situations - actively pushing toward direct conflict - to achieve gains by making the opponent back down.
Brinkmanship and containment are two distinct U.S. Cold War strategies. Containment focused on preventing the spread of communism without direct conflict, while brinkmanship involved aggressive posturing and the threat of war to leverage concessions from adversaries. Both played significant roles in shaping U.S. foreign policy during that era.
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