Horizontal escalation is the process by which conflicts are heightened through geographical expansion with reasoning including diplomatic, economic, informational, and military components.
[1] During the Cold War, the risks associated with using escalation were much broader and more diverse, due to the intensity of the current world events.
Counterinsurgency and counter-terrorist operations were very prone to using horizontal escalation as a means of defense.
In an era of such high intensity, in order to gain an upper hand, horizontal escalation was implemented.
[1] Due to an unclear division between different types of escalation, some attacks can be classified as horizontal, vertical, or both.