There is a high likelihood for every long-term crisis to turn into a real war, which entails a complete change in the countries’ approach to each other. In 2020, there was another Nagorno-Karabakh war, which is a solid example of how nations that have been engaged in a tense but largely dormant conflict can instantly become enemies at war. Before this war broke out in 2020, Armenia and Azerbaijan were able to peacefully coexist despite the fact that they both claimed the Nagorno-Karabakh region was their territory. The presidents of the nations even had a hotline that was used to de-escalate all the situations which might arise at the border. It is not clear which country started the war since they both state they were simply retaliating. Yet, the fact remains that under extreme circumstances of the initial act of aggression, both sides rejected all the previously-established norms and engaged in a war.
Another example of how a country’s strategic behavior can change in response to extreme circumstances is Imperial Japan during WW2 after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. At the end of the war, it was clear that Japan was destined to lose, but its army commanders were not going to surrender unconditionally without a fight. Thus, in order to avoid more unnecessary casualties, the U.S. decided to pursue the bombing of two cities in Japan. Despite hundreds of thousands of deaths, the plan was successful in attaining its goal to force Japan to surrender, which happened several days after the attack. The extreme circumstances of a nuclear bombing demonstrated to Japanese commanders and Emperor what could potentially happen to the rest of the country. Thus, surrendering was the most reasonable option for the Empire since continuing the war would mean even greater destruction and humiliation of the nation.