ABSTRACT
In general, the escalation-de-escalation continuum has many resemblances to the coercive-contractual continuum in that both are spectrums of rewards and punishments that are manipulated in order to influence another's behavior. Crisis and escalation also have an important effect on arms control. This chapter tends to de-emphasize these extremely important problems of crisis management, of administration and command, control, and communications. It observes that, although people actual response could not have been planned in advance, it was an almost perfect example of "principles" that are basic enough to be developed in crisis studies. The chapter suggests that the US should have available emergency-readiness programs and tension-mobilization bases to facilitate its capability to react in the way to a tense crisis. It proposes a European Strategic Defense Community based on a tactical doctrine that could be called "proportionate nuclear reprisal". The chapter illustrates the role that gimmicks and ingenuity could play rather than seriously to advocate specific policy recommendations.
