Bargaining and War
Because war is costly, this “puzzle” asks why rational states ever fight at all.
What is the efficiency puzzle?
When actors adjust their behavior to make each other better off compared to the status quo.
What is cooperation?
This theory sees international politics as a struggle for power among self-interested states.
What is realism?
This term describes the short-term surge in public support leaders enjoy during international crises.
What is the rally effect?
The core principle of the Westphalian system: each state has authority within its borders, free from outside interference.
What is sovereignty?
This term describes the set of agreements both sides prefer to war, given costs and probabilities of victory.
What is the bargaining range?
This version of cooperation involves incentives to cheat and requires enforcement or monitoring to succeed.
What is collaboration?
This American president’s “Fourteen Points” speech outlined liberal ideals of cooperation and collective security.
Who is Woodrow Wilson?
Leaders sometimes start conflicts to distract from domestic troubles.
What is the diversionary incentive (or diversionary war)?
According to Krasner, this form of sovereignty refers to a state’s internal authority and control.
What is domestic sovereignty?
A war fought to stop another state from becoming stronger in the future.
What is a preventive war?
A problem that occurs when everyone benefits from a public good but prefers others to pay for it.
What is the collective action problem?
According to Hans Morgenthau, this drives state behavior and explains why moral appeals fail in world politics.
What is the human desire for power?
Costs leaders face at home for backing down after making public threats.
What are audience costs?
The form of sovereignty that depends on recognition by other states as legitimate members of the international system.
What is international legal sovereignty?
This problem arises when states cannot commit to uphold an agreement once power shifts.
What is a commitment problem?
This game model shows how rational self-interest can lead to worse outcomes for everyone.
What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma?
Kenneth Waltz’s “structural realism” argues that conflict arises not from human nature but from this condition of the international system.
What is anarchy?
This network of defense firms, military officials, and politicians benefits from sustained defense spending and tension.
What is the military–industrial (MI) complex?
A political unit with a defined territory, population, and government capable of exercising authority.
What is a state?
An issue that cannot be divided or compensated for, such as control of Jerusalem, creates this barrier to peaceful settlement.
What is issue indivisibility?
The main realist critique of cooperation under anarchy: states always fear being exploited by others, leading to this dilemma.
What is the security dilemma?
Liberal theorists like Ikenberry argue that these international structures reduce uncertainty, facilitate cooperation, and enforce norms.
What are international institutions?
When domestic actors gain from escalation, they push leaders to reject compromise, thus narrowing this crucial space for peace.
What is the bargaining range?
A community of people with shared culture, language, or identity, not always matching state borders.
What is a nation?