taking a dispute to the edge of conflict to force the enemy to back down

Brinkmanship means pushing a dispute dangerously close to open conflict in order to pressure the other side to back down. An arms race is competition to build up weapons, while nuclear deterrence and mutually assured destruction describe strategies based on discouraging attack through the threat of nuclear retaliation. Therefore, the correct choice is brinkmanship.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.