A
policy of deliberate ambiguity (also known as a policy of
strategic ambiguity,
strategic uncertainty) is the practice by a
country of being intentionally ambiguous on certain aspects of its
foreign policy or whether it possesses certain
weapons of mass destruction. It may be useful if the country has contrary foreign and domestic policy goals or if it wants to take advantage of
risk aversion to abet a
deterrence strategy. Such a policy can be very risky as it may cause misinterpretation of a nation's intentions, leading to actions that contradict that nation's wishes.