What is a Stalemate
Dealing with a no–win/no lose situation
In life, a stalemate (also called a draw, tie, standstill, gridlock, or impasse), is competitive scenario where two or more competitors seem to have used every strategy, skill, tactic, hack, tool, method, and technique available to them and now, at a point that seems like the end can avoid losing, and yet have no way in which to win. As a futurist, I often need to predict when a stalemate is likely to happen, long before it does.
Let’s apply this idea to an adversarial situation, especially a in global politics. Here a stalemate would be when neither side can claim victory over the other without the cost being unacceptable. Here is a classic example.
The Korean War was fought with China and North Korea against The US (And other United Nations forces) and South Korea. It started when North Korea invaded South Korea. After their offensive was halted, The US and South Korea launched an offensive of their own, pushing them back all the way to the Chinese border. This caused China to enter the war, and they managed to push the US and South Korea all the way back to the border, and a little bit past that. After recovering some ground from the Chinese, neither side could get any ground over the other. They were at a stalemate.
