Definition

1. Noun:
   • A political theory: The domino theory is the idea that if one country in a region adopts a particular political system, especially communism, it will cause neighboring countries to adopt the same system in a chain reaction, like falling dominoes.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The domino theory was a major justification for U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
  • Policymakers feared the domino theory, believing that the fall of one Southeast Asian nation to communism would lead to the fall of others.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: The term is most strongly associated with Cold War foreign policy, particularly concerning Southeast Asia in the 1950s-1970s.
  • Analysts debated the validity of the domino theory throughout the Cold War.

Variants and Related Words

• Domino effect (n): A more general term for any situation where one event causes a series of similar events to follow.
  • The bank's failure triggered a domino effect, leading to a wider financial crisis.

Synonyms

• Chain reaction theory: A phrase describing a similar sequential cause-and-effect process in politics.
• Containment theory: A related but distinct Cold War policy aimed at preventing the spread of communism, often informed by fears described by the domino theory.

Related Idioms

• "Like dominoes": A simile used to describe things that fall or fail in quick succession.
  • One company declared bankruptcy, and then others fell like dominoes.

Noun

1. the political theory that if one nation comes under communist control then neighboring nations will also come under communist control