What was Mutually Assured Destruction and how did it help prevent nuclear war?

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) was a military strategy during the Cold War based on the premise that if two opposing sides possessed enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other completely, neither would initiate a conflict. This concept created a stable deterrent, as both the United States and the Soviet Union understood that any nuclear attack would result in their own destruction. MAD fostered a precarious peace, as the fear of total annihilation prevented direct military confrontation between the superpowers. Ultimately, this balance of terror contributed to the avoidance of nuclear war during this tense period.