Given below are two statements:

Statement (I) : The cold war was an intense form of rivalry between great powers but both sides had the capacity to retaliate against any attack and cause so much of destruction that neither could afford to initiate war

Statement (II): The two superpowers and the countries in the rival block were expected to behave as rational and responsible actors

In the light of the above statements, choose the most appropriate answer from the options given below:

Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are correct

The correct answer is option (1) - Both Statement (I) and Statement (II) are correct

Statement (I) : The cold war was an intense form of rivalry between great powers but both sides had the capacity to retaliate against any attack and cause so much of destruction that neither could afford to initiate war

Statement (II): The two superpowers and the countries in the rival block were expected to behave as rational and responsible actors

Explanation:

In the event of a nuclear war, both sides will be so badly harmed that it will be impossible to declare one side or the other as the winner. Even if one of them tries to attack and disable the nuclear weapons of its rival, the other would still be left with enough nuclear weapons to inflict unacceptable destruction. This is called the logic of ‘deterrence’: (Statement I) both sides have the capacity to retaliate against an attack and to cause so much destruction that neither can afford to initiate war. Thus, the Cold War — in spite of being an intense form of rivalry between great powers — remained a ‘cold’ and not hot or shooting war. The deterrence relationship prevents war but not the rivalry between powers.

Note the main military features of the Cold War. The two superpowers and the countries in the rival blocs led by the superpowers were expected to behave as rational and responsible actors {Statement II}. They were to be rational and responsible in the sense that they understood the risks in fighting wars that might involve the two superpowers. When two superpowers and the blocs led by them are in a deterrence relationship, fighting wars will be massively destructive.