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A Bargaining Theory of Conflict with Evolutionary Preferences
, 2017
"... Abstract Bargaining models play a central role in international relations, particularly in the study of conflict. A common criticism of this approach is that it fails to account for nonmaterial (e.g., psychological) factors that may influence the bargaining process. We augment a standard bargaining ..."
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Abstract Bargaining models play a central role in international relations, particularly in the study of conflict. A common criticism of this approach is that it fails to account for nonmaterial (e.g., psychological) factors that may influence the bargaining process. We augment a standard bargaining model by allowing actors' preferences over conflict to diverge from the "fitness" payoffs (e.g., resources) typical of such models. Preferences are subject to evolutionary forces-those who attain high fitness reproduce more. We find that Politics and violence are inextricably linked. No contemporary political group highlights this connection more clearly than the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which has beheaded journalists, massacred minority groups, and glorified these exploits with videos that have spread throughout the world via the Internet. 1 The group's extreme use of violence has led some to conclude that their actions are driven by a violent ideology, rather than by strategic motivations. 2 Others argue that ISIS uses violence in an instrumentally rational manner, potentially to draw international attention and recruits, or to force local populations into submission. 3