Which of these was a feature of the relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States in the era leading up to dètente?
A. nuclear war
B. direct conflict
C. arms race
D. cooperation

Option C, Arms race, is the right answer.

Explanation:

Throughout the Cold War, the nuclear arms race was a race for producing nuclear products for supremacy in nuclear weapons between the Soviet Union, the United States and their allies.

It was the time during which not only the superpowers (America and the Soviet Union) developed nuclear weapons but other countries also developed such weapons but on a small scale. However, no one engaged in the nuclear war and save the world from a devastating state.