The madman theory is a political theory commonly associated with the foreign policy of U.S. president Richard Nixon and his administration, who tried to make the leaders of hostile communist bloc countries think Nixon was irrational and volatile so that they would avoid provoking the U.S. in fear of an unpredictable response. The premise of madman theory is that the appearance of irrationality makes otherwise non-credible threats seem credible.
The madman theory is a political theory commonly associated with the foreign policy of U.S. president Richard Nixon and his administration, who tried to make the leaders of hostile communist bloc countries think Nixon was irrational and volatile so that they would avoid provoking the U.S. in fear of an unpredictable response. The premise of madman theory is that the appearance of irrationality makes otherwise non-credible threats seem credible.
Source: Wikipedia "Madman theory" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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