ABSTRACT
This chapter describes stress on the escalation-ladder metaphor and discusses some of its defects as a model of a certain kind of international crisis. Depending on history and special circumstances, some rungs of the escalation ladder ought to have higher or lower positions. The chapter points out that the escalation ladder was particularly useful in describing and discussing the dynamics of escalation. In addition to the general limitations of the escalation-ladder concept, there are some specific objections that must be noted in connection with the upper rungs of the ladder. The four most significant ones, listed in increasing order of importance, are: assumption of rationality; failure to deal with ambiguities and uncertainties; existence of acceptable alternatives; and long-term instability. The problems of communication of intent in escalating can be interestingly contrasted with the problems of diplomatic communications in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
