ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes a spectrum of international crises and a selection of mechanisms for dealing with them. It focuses on attention on the use and misuse of escalation tactics and strategies, rather than consider sustained conflict at any given level. The chapter emphasizes though, that escalation ladders are metaphorical tools that have been found useful in preliminary studies of escalation. The particular ladder people will use has forty-four rungs. The forty-four rungs of the ladder have been grouped into seven units including varying numbers of rungs: subcrisis maneuvering, traditional crises, intense crises, bizarre crises, exemplary central attacks, military central wars and civilian central wars. These seven groups are separated from one another on the diagram by six spaces that represent "firebreaks," or thresholds, at which very sharp changes in the character of the escalation take place. The six basic thresholds are: don't rock the boat, nuclear war is unthinkable, no nuclear use, central sanctuary, central war and city targeting .
