preview

A Game Theoretical Model Based On The Prisoner 's Dilemma

Decent Essays

Since 1948 the issue of unification has been a stalemate between North and South Korea, no substantive changes have been made despite discussions being held both in 1972 and 1979. Therefore, new approaches must be developed that could increase the possibility of agreement between the Koreas’. This paper will look at the use of a game theoretical model based on the Prisoner 's Dilemma to analyze the situation and provide strategy recommendations which could improve the status quo. The paper will conclude that action should be taken now, and the initiative for unification needs to come from within the Koreas’ along with a significant increase in dialogue and cooperation if unification is to occur. Two prisoners accused of the same crime …show more content…

The dilemma arises from the circumstance that in the absence of communication and hence of making binding agreements, there is no way of rationalizing the choice of action, which if taken by both players, benefits both. Prisoner 's Dilemma is the type of a two-person game which has a configuration of payoffs that gives both players dominant incentives, in the absence of an enforceable agreement to the contrary, to choose strategies that together yield both players a less desirable outcome than if both had made opposite choices. The game can be either cooperative or non-cooperative in that overt communication between the players may or may not be permitted. In either case the choices, or alternating plays, of each side become obvious to the other side after each round of play. In the case of Korean Unification, the plays are the alternating proposals made by each side in an effort to elicit cooperation from the other side. 1. The 2 x 2 Experience The situation in Korea can be viewed in simple game-theoretical terms as a conflict between two parties whose interests do not fully coincide. Both sides assume different values they can derive from the range of possible outcomes of the situation. They also maintain a perception of the values for each outcome that the other player might conceivably receive. This type of game can be represented by a rectangular array or matrix. The horizontal rows represent the decisions available to one player while the vertical columns

Get Access