A victory that results in self-inflicted devastation equivalent to defeat.
For example, in 1955 Prince Edward County, Virginia public schools had already shut down for four years rather than comply with the Supreme Court’s ruling. Then they enacted the Gray Plan to divert public school dollars to private schools for white children. Due to lack of budget both white and black students suffered throughout the sate and ~20% closed altogether while costing the tax payers dearly (totaling ~$1MM per 1% of student population). This resulted in tremendous damage to generations of Virginians who suffered from a poor education and were then unable to make the transition to knowledge work. (See White Rage).