Authoritarian regimes around the world hold elections, and manipulate them every step of the way. While electoral fraud and manipulation take a variety of forms, increasingly sophisticated methods are often employed before polling stations even open. Authoritarian regimes usually get away with rigging elections, but exposure of electoral fraud and manipulation erodes the legitimacy that authoritarian regimes seek to gain through the electoral process. In a few cases where attempts to rig elections were effectively documented, election observers dealt a heavy—if not decisive—blow to the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes.

朝鲜战争是第二次世界大战结束后美国进行的第一场大规模有限战争,尽管当时苏联已经打破了美国的核垄断,但美国仍然拥有压倒性的核优势。在将近3年的军事较量和停战谈判中,无论是对于美国军方还是行政当局,使用或威胁使用核武器都是一个巨大诱惑。面对气势如虹、坚忍不拔的中国人民和志愿军战士,美国既做好了实际使用核武器的准备,又对中国发出了旨在威慑与讹诈的核威胁。最终,美国没有在战争中使用核武器,核威胁也未达到其预期目的。但经此一战,核武器作为特殊武器、终极武器的地位得以巩固,中国也因为受到核威胁而更坚定了发展核武器的决心。