Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Game theory, the science of interactive decision making, burst upon the academic scene in 1944 with the publication of von Neumann and Morgenstern's magisterial Theory of Games and Economic Behavior . Widely hailed when it was published, this work's impact was felt almost immediately. By the early 1950s, applications and extensions of the original approach began to appear in many of the social sciences, including political science and almost all of its major subfields. International relations was no exception. Indeed, it was in the general area of interstate conflict and its resolution that game theory would make its earliest and most significant contributions. But that was then; this is now. Much has changed since the first studies were published. Game theoretic models have become increasingly sophisticated and, in consequence, much more powerful and useful. As Walt (1999 :5) has written: Rational choice models have been an accepted part of the academic study of politics since the 1950s, but their popularity has grown significantly in recent years. Elite academic departments are now expected to include game theorists and other formal modelers in order to be regarded as “up to date,” graduate students increasingly view the use of formal rational choice models as a prerequisite for professional advancement, and research employing rational choice methods is becoming more widespread ... log in or subscribe to read full text