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Assured Destruction is a concept sometimes used in game
theory and similar discussions to describe a condition where certain behaviors or choices are deterred because they will lead
to the imposition by others of overwhelming punitive consequences.
The concept of Assured Destruction occasionally arises in the death
penalty debate and biotechnology debate, though it is most well known
in the context of nuclear strategy where it is most often discussed
as mutually assured destruction – a
deterrent strategy where both participants have the ability to respond overwhelmingly against whomever strikes first.
For an Assured Destruction strategy to be successful:
- the threat must be known in advance
- the threat must be credible both in the opponent’s ability to retaliate and in the opponent’s moral willingness
to retaliate
- the target of the strategy must behave based on rational self-interest
Other examples of attempts to establish the conditions for Assured Destruction include:
- Three-man cells in terrorist organizations, who establish interlocking treaties between each pair of the participants for the
death of any party who refuses to cooperate
- Poison pills in stockholder agreements
- Highly punitive criminal and civil punishments for drug possession
When the concept of assured destruction is applied in the doctrine of law, it is often criticized by proponents of the
restorative justice and transformative justice movements, who point out that assured
destruction doctrines are rarely implemented with rigor or integrity of due process. This
is a major contributor to the controversy of the death penalty debate.
- Psychologists, notably B. F. Skinner, determined that promises of
punishment seem to play little or no role in deterrence of adult behavior. Challengers of the general application of Assured
Destruction tactics point to the failure of post-facto measures to end standoffs presumed to lead to mutually assured destruction, the role of martyrs and the effectiveness of suicide attacks.
Assured Destruction tactics are not to be confused with “insurance” tactics such as retaliatory trade tariffs that
are merely intended to compensate the aggrieved or to return conditions to the pre-existing “level playing
field”.
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