domino theory


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domino theory

1. The political theory that, if one country or area adopts communism, then the surrounding ones will as well. The domino theory was a major concern as the Soviet Union expanded its power after World War II.
2. By extension, the idea that an event in one country will result in similar events in the surrounding countries. The string of revolutions that occurred in neighboring countries during the Arab Spring was a great example of domino theory in action.
See also: domino, theory
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

a domino effect

COMMON A domino effect is a situation where one event causes a series of similar events. The accident created a domino effect, causing about 10 other bikes to crash and injuring 14 other people. Unused houses deteriorate rapidly, affecting the value of nearby homes; in a domino effect, the entire neighborhood can easily fall victim. Note: This expression was first used in the 1950s by an American political commentator to describe what some people thought would happen if one country in a region became Communist: they believed that the other countries in that area would also `fall' to the Communists. The image is of a row of upright dominoes (= small, rectangular games pieces with different numbers of dots on them); if one falls, it knocks the next one over and so on, until all of them have fallen over.
See also: domino, effect
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
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In hindsight, the connection between the various countries of Southeast Asia is less predictable than the domino theory asserted.
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One of the arguments for the Vietnam War was the so-called domino theory. If South Vietnam was to fall to the Communists, other countries in South-East Asia would tumble before Communist insurgency.
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Central to the war in Vietnam was the logic of the "domino theory", namely that if Vietnam fell to communism other Asian states would follow, thus endangering US national security.
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McNamara admitted that the US administrations of Kennedy and Johnson failed to address "the fundamental issues", while hiding behind the discredited "domino theory" that if Vietnam went communist, the whole of SouthEast Asia would follow.
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These were times when if you spoke of a downward thrust of Communism or the domino theory you were laughed out of court.
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America was motivated by the domino theory, which held that the fall of Vietnam would lead to one communist victory after another throughout the world.
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Moyar announces that "the domino theory was valid," that Vietnam was "a wise war fought under foolish constraints," and that the United States could have won the war early on had it stuck with Diem and invaded Laos and North Vietnam--bold moves that would have provoked "a Chinese abstention from the fighting." He further announces that the stakes were enormous.
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He's not afraid to attack sacred cows and does his best to dispel myths such as the Domino Theory and the sins of Diem.
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With the vast, vast majority of Americans, the quoted Lutherans were anti-Communist, and most of them were taught by the Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon presidential administrations to see the Vietnam War in the context of the "domino theory," a theory that saw Vietnam as one of the dominoes which, if left to fall, would lead to more drastic falls.
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Japanese politicians should speak out against the nuclear domino theory, not go along with it.
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But, as the domino theory would have it, and in the spirit of a nuclear chain reaction, there are also three other kinds of people--those who pronounce Hawaii [special font needed], those who pronounce it [special font needed], and those--"he shuddered here--"who pronounce it [special font needed]." He shot me a sniper's squint.
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