Games Theory in International Relations
GAMES THEORY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The field of game theory came into being with Émile Borel 's researches in his 1938 book ‘Applications aux Jeux des Hazard’, and was followed by the 1944 book ‘Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour’ by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. This theory was developed extensively in the 1950s by many scholars. Game theory was later explicitly applied to biology in the 1970s, although similar developments go back at least as far as the 1930s.
Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences, most notably in economics, as well as in biology. It is also used in engineering, political science, international relations, computer science, and philosophy. Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behaviour in strategic situations, or games, in which an individual 's success in making choices depends on the choices of others. While initially developed to analyse competitions in which one individual does better at another 's expense such as in zero sum games, it has been expanded to treat a wide class of interactions, which are classified according to several criteria. Today, "game theory is a sort of umbrella or 'unified field ' theory for the rational side of social science, where 'social ' is interpreted broadly, to include human as well as non-human players (computers, animals, plants)" (Aumann 1987).
2.0 CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
Theories are analytical tools for understanding, explaining, and making predictions about a given subject matter. There are theories in many and varied fields of study, including the arts and sciences. A formal theory is syntactic in nature and is only meaningful when given a semantic component by applying it to some content. Theories may be expressed mathematically, symbolically, or in common language, but are generally expected to follow principles of rational thought or logic (Curry, Haskel 1986).
A game is a structured
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The field of game theory came into being with Émile Borel 's researches in his 1938 book ‘Applications aux Jeux des Hazard’, and was followed by the 1944 book ‘Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour’ by John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern. This theory was developed extensively in the 1950s by many scholars. Game theory was later explicitly applied to biology in the 1970s, although similar developments go back at least as far as the 1930s.
Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences, most notably in economics, as well as in biology. It is also used in engineering, political science, international relations, computer science, and philosophy. Game theory attempts to mathematically capture behaviour in strategic situations, or games, in which an individual 's success in making choices depends on the choices of others. While initially developed to analyse competitions in which one individual does better at another 's expense such as in zero sum games, it has been expanded to treat a wide class of interactions, which are classified according to several criteria. Today, "game theory is a sort of umbrella or 'unified field ' theory for the rational side of social science, where 'social ' is interpreted broadly, to include human as well as non-human players (computers, animals, plants)" (Aumann 1987).
2.0 CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION
Theories are analytical tools for understanding, explaining, and making predictions about a given subject matter. There are theories in many and varied fields of study, including the arts and sciences. A formal theory is syntactic in nature and is only meaningful when given a semantic component by applying it to some content. Theories may be expressed mathematically, symbolically, or in common language, but are generally expected to follow principles of rational thought or logic (Curry, Haskel 1986).
A game is a structured
References: Aumann, Robert J. (1987), "game theory,", The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 2, pp. 460–82. Adebayo Adedeji (1989) “Economics of Development in a world of Changing Ideologies and Values” Lecture Delivered on the Award of Fellowship Nigerian Economic Society, University of Lagos May 1989 p3. SO Akinboye,FO Ottoh (2005,2007) “ A Systematic Approach to International Relations” p51-75. Assisi Asobie “International Relations and Foreign Policy Perspectives in Nigeria” Lagos.1987 p27. Osborne, Martin J.; Rubinstein, Ariel (1994), A course in game theory, MIT Press, ISBN 978-0-262-65040-3. A modern introduction at the graduate level. Luce, R. Duncan; Raiffa, Howard (1957), Games and decisions: introduction and critical survey, New York: Wiley Harsanyi, John C. (1974), "An equilibrium point interpretation of stable sets", Management Science 20: 1472–1495.