# arms race (escalation)

*Ordinarily means:* A situation where two sides keep trying to outdo each other in some way.

A sequence of moves where each side responds to the other's increase with one of its own, so the parameter rises without either side choosing the final level.

- Computed level: L17 (depth in the emergence graph, not abstraction)
- Status: review  ·  Domain: collective outcome nobody chose

## Emergence
**Emerges from:** [parameter](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-parameter.condition), [drift](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-drift.aimless), [interaction](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-interaction.process), [state of the art](https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-state-of-the-art.frontier)

**Through:** interaction.process

**Novel properties:**
- collective outcome nobody chose

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*Canonical: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-arms-race.escalation*  
*Structured data: https://emergencemachine.com/tools/lexicon/what-is-the-meaning-of-arms-race.escalation.json*  
*Every definition provably resolves to space, time, energy and pattern.*