Brinkmanship (also brinksmanship) is the practice of pushing dangerous events to the verge of—or to the brink of—disaster in order to achieve the most advantageous outcome. It occurs in international politics, foreign policy, labour relations, and (in contemporary settings) military strategyinvolving the threatened use of nuclear weapons.
This maneuver of pushing a situation with the opponent to the brink succeeds by forcing the opponent to back down and make concessions.
As applied to current news:
- 11th-Hour Brinkmanship Before Government Shutdown.
- CR Blues: Constant Brinkmanship Brings Fatigue
- Boehner can't let go of brinkmanship
- Brinkmanship in US Congress as debt ceiling looms
