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Policy of deliberate ambiguity

 

 
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Policy of deliberate ambiguity
 
 
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A policy of deliberate ambiguity (also known as a policy of strategic ambiguity) is the practice by a country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 of being intentionally ambiguous on certain aspects of its foreign policy
Foreign policy

A state's foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent, how the country will interact with non-state actors....
 or whether it possesses certain weapons of mass destruction. It may be useful if the country has contrary foreign and domestic policy goals or if it wants to take advantage of risk aversion
Risk aversion

Risk aversion is a concept in economics, finance, and psychology related to the behaviour of consumers and investors under uncertainty. Risk aversion is the reluctance of a person to accept a bargain with an uncertain payoff rather than another bargain with a more certain, but possibly lower, expected value....
 to abet a deterrence
Deterrence theory

Deterrence theory is a military strategy developed during the Cold War. It is especially relevant with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and figures prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran....
 strategy. Such a policy can be very risky as it may cause misinterpretation of a nation's intentions, leading to actions that contradict that nation's wishes.








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A policy of deliberate ambiguity (also known as a policy of strategic ambiguity) is the practice by a country
Country

Country may refer to the territory of a state, or to a smaller, or former, political division of a geographical region. In another meaning of the word, the country is also a term used to refer to rural areas....
 of being intentionally ambiguous on certain aspects of its foreign policy
Foreign policy

A state's foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent, how the country will interact with non-state actors....
 or whether it possesses certain weapons of mass destruction. It may be useful if the country has contrary foreign and domestic policy goals or if it wants to take advantage of risk aversion
Risk aversion

Risk aversion is a concept in economics, finance, and psychology related to the behaviour of consumers and investors under uncertainty. Risk aversion is the reluctance of a person to accept a bargain with an uncertain payoff rather than another bargain with a more certain, but possibly lower, expected value....
 to abet a deterrence
Deterrence theory

Deterrence theory is a military strategy developed during the Cold War. It is especially relevant with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and figures prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran....
 strategy. Such a policy can be very risky as it may cause misinterpretation of a nation's intentions, leading to actions that contradict that nation's wishes.

Examples

  • People's Republic of China
    People's Republic of China

    The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
     (mainland China) and Republic of China
    Republic of China

    The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
     (Taiwan)
    • 1992 consensus
      1992 Consensus

      The 1992 Consensus or Consensus of 1992 is a term describing the outcome of a meeting in 1992 between the representatives of the People's Republic of China in mainland China and the Republic of China in Taiwan....
      : the governments of mainland China
      Mainland China

      Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China , excluding Hong Kong and Macau, which run on One Country, Two Systems....
       and Taiwan
      Taiwan

      Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
       formed a consensus in 1992 that both sides recognise that there is one China
      China

      China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
      , but remain ambiguous on the content of that concept, such as whether China here means Republic of China
      Republic of China

      The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
       or People's Republic of China
      People's Republic of China

      The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
      . See also Cross-Strait relations
      Cross-Strait relations

      Cross-Strait relations refers to the relations between mainland China, which sits to the west of the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan, which sits to the east; especially the relations between their respective governments, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China ....
      .
    • Due to the controversial political status of Taiwan
      Political status of Taiwan

      The controversy regarding the political status of Taiwan hinges on whether Taiwan, including Penghu, should remain effectively independent as territory of the Republic of China , become Chinese reunification with the territories now governed by the People's Republic of China , or formally declare independence and become the Republic of Taiwa...
      , foreign governments have long felt a need to be ambiguous regarding Taiwan. In practice, they maintain different levels of ambiguity on their attitudes to the Taiwan issue: see Foreign relations of the Republic of China
      Foreign relations of the Republic of China

      The Republic of China, whose jurisdiction is now constituted by the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, the Matsu Islands and some other minor islands, is currently recognized by states, including the Holy See of Vatican City as sole and legitimate representative of China....
       and Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China
      Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China

      The foreign relations of the People's Republic of China draw upon traditions extending back to imperial China in the Qing Dynasty and the Opium Wars, despite Chinese society having undergone many radical upheavals over the past two and a half centuries....
      .
    • No first use
      No first use

      No first use refers to a pledge or a policy by a List of states with nuclear weapons to not use nuclear weapons as a mean of warfare unless first attacked by an adversary using nuclear weapons....
       policy: The wording of the pledge is so that the definition of "use of nuclear weapons" becomes ambiguous, where it may also include the use of reactor
      Nuclear reactor

      A nuclear reactor is a device in which nuclear chain reactions are initiated, controlled, and sustained at a steady rate, as opposed to a nuclear bomb, in which the chain reaction occurs in a fraction of a second and is uncontrolled causing an explosion....
      -powered submarines and aircraft carriers, so that retaliation by nuclear strike
      Nuclear strike

      Nuclear strike may refer to:* Nuclear warfare* An installation in the Strike series of video games...
       is an option in the predicament where another party attacks using such weaponry.


  • United States
    United States

    The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
    • Whether it would retaliate to a chemical or biological attack with nuclear weapons; specifically, during the Persian Gulf War
      Gulf War

      "Persian Gulf War" and "First Gulf War" redirect here. For other uses, see Persian Gulf War .The Persian Gulf War was a United Nations-authorized military conflict between Iraq and a Coalition of Gulf War from 34 nations commissioned with expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait after Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait of Kuwait in August 1990....
      .
    • Whether it would defend the Republic of China
      Republic of China

      The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
       in the event of an attack by the People's Republic of China
      People's Republic of China

      The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
      . This policy was intended to discourage both a unilateral declaration of independence
      Taiwan independence

      Taiwan independence is a political movement whose goal is primarily to create an independent and sovereign Republic of Taiwan out of the lands currently governed by the Republic of China and claimed by the People's Republic of China....
       by ROC
      Republic of China

      The Republic of China , also known as Nationalist China is a country in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition into a multi-party democratic state with Political status of Taiwan....
       leaders and an invasion of Taiwan by the PRC. The United States has since been much less ambiguous after George W. Bush
      George W. Bush

      George Walker Bush served as the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States from 2001 to 2009. He was the 46th List of Governors of Texas from 1995 to 2000 before being United States presidential inauguration as President on January 20, 2001....
       stated to "do whatever it takes" to defend Taiwan, but has continued to express dissatisfaction over moves towards a unilateral declaration of independence
      Declaration of independence

      This article is about declarations of independence in general. Specific declarations of independence are listed below in alphabetical order. For the painting of this name, see Trumbull's Declaration of Independence....
      .
    • The political status of Puerto Rico
      Puerto Rico

      Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a Autonomy Territories of the United States of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands....
      .


  • Israel
    Israel

    Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
    • Whether or not it possesses nuclear weapons (see nuclear weapons and Israel
      Nuclear weapons and Israel

      Israel is widely believed to be the List of states with nuclear weapons in the world to develop nuclear weapons and to be one of four nuclear-armed countries not recognized as a nuclear weapons states by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty , the others being India, Pakistan and North Korea....
       and Israel and weapons of mass destruction
      Israel and weapons of mass destruction

      Israel is widely believed to possess an estimated 75 to 200 nuclear warheads and medium-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering those warheads....
      ).


  • Flexible response
    Flexible response

    Flexible response was a defense strategy implemented by John F. Kennedy in 1961 to address the Kennedy administration's skepticism of Dwight Eisenhower's New Look and its policy of Massive Retaliation....


External links