Expected Utility and Peace Science: An Assessment of Trade and Conflict

Lois W. Sayrs
Additional contact information
Lois W. Sayrs: Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa

Conflict Management and Peace Science, 1990, vol. 11, issue 1, 17-44

Abstract: In this paper, I attempt to tease out the implications of expected utility models on conflict resolution and peace science. I also consider the trade-conflict model of Polachek (1980) and its extensions, as one example of expected utility in international relations. I raise three questions concerning the impact of expected utility: (1) when does trade mitigate conflict? (2) can trade provoke conflict? (3) can trade induce cooperation? From a review of empirical findings, I consider the political content of the trade-conflict model in particular, and of expected utility models, in general. Subsequently, I discuss two additional questions: (4) how do exchange norms influence trade and conflict? and (5) what incentives exist to foster cooperation from trade under expected utility? I advance the critique that while expected utility underrepresents political actions and motives, the implicit content of politics in the trade-conflict model is predominantly realist. Given this tendency, expected utility in conflict resolution and peace science will invariably be used to model strategic and geostrategic concerns.

Date: 1990
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/073889429001100102 (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:compsc:v:11:y:1990:i:1:p:17-44

DOI: 10.1177/073889429001100102

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Conflict Management and Peace Science from Peace Science Society (International)
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications ().