Games Strategy And Politics
GAMES, STRATEGY, AND POLITICS Politics V53.0844 S. J. Brams
New York University 19 West 4th St., Rm. 309
Fall 2009 (212) 998-8510; steven.brams@https://www.sodocs.net/doc/4e10999456.html,
Class: Mon. & Wed., 2:00 - 3:15 PM Office Hrs.: Mon., 3:30 - 6 PM
TA: Kazuto Ohtsuki
Applications of game theory—and an alternative strategic theory called “theory of moves”—as well as social-choice theory to a wide variety of strategic situations,
principally but not exclusively in politics, will be examined. Uses of strategy in voting in
committees and elections, in political campaigns, in the defense and deterrence policies
of nations, and in bargaining and coalition-building situations will be among the topics
discussed. Secrecy and deception as political strategies will also be analyzed.
Although the applications of strategic thinking will be mainly to American and international politics, strategy in everything from the Bible to sports and business today
will be studied, too. Social-choice topics that will be analyzed include the manipulability
of different voting systems, problems of achieving proportional representation in
parliamentary democracies, and conflicts among different apportionment methods. Fair-
division procedures for resolving disputes will also be analyzed.
In addition to the required readings, further readings will be recommended throughout the course for those interested in pursuing particular topics in greater depth.
No mathematical training beyond high school mathematics is assumed in the course. The
written requirements of the course include a midterm and a final examination plus a short
paper on a topic that is chosen in consultation with the instructor. Each of the three
written requirements will count approximately 30 percent towards your final grade, with
homework constituting the remaining 10 percent.
Required Books
Brams, Steven J. RATIONAL POLITICS: DECISIONS, GAMES, AND STRATEGY.
Washington, DC/Boston: CQ Press/Academic Press, 1985/1989 (out of print; used
copies and bound reproductions in bookstore). RP
Brams, Steven J. THEORY OF MOVES. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994. TOM
Brams, Steven J., and Alan D. Taylor. THE WIN-WIN SOLUTION: GUARANTEEING FAIR SHARES TO EVERYBODY. New York: W.W. Norton, 1999. WW Dixit, Avinash K., and Barry J. Nalebuff. THE ART OF STRATEGY: A GAME
THEORIST’S GUIDE TO SUCCESS IN BUSINESS AND LIFE. New York:
W.W. Norton, 2008. AS
Assignments Due
Sept. 9: RP, chs. l-2; TOM, Introduction; AS, Introduction and ch. 1
Sept. 14: TOM, ch. 1; AS, chs. 2-3
Sept. 21: TOM, ch. 2; AS, chs. 4-5
Sept. 28: TOM, ch. 3; AS, chs. 6-7
Oct. 5: TOM, ch. 4; AS, ch. 8
Oct. 12: TOM, chs. 5-6
Oct. 19: TOM, chs. 7-8
Oct. 26: Review and Midterm Examination
Nov. 2: RP, ch. 3; AS, chs. 9-10
Nov. 9: RP, ch. 4; AS, chs. 11-12
Nov. 16: RP, chs. 5 & 7 (skip ch. 6)
Nov. 23: RP, chs. 8-9; AS, chs. 13-14
Nov. 30: 6-8 page paper due; oral reports
Dec. 7: WW, entire book
Dec. 14: Review
Dec. 21(?): Final Examination
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Camerer, Colin F. BEHAVIORAL GAME THEORY: EXPERIMENTS IN STRATEGIC INTERACTION. Princeton University Press, 2003.
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Dixit, Avinash, David H. Reiley, and Susan Skeath. GAMES OF STRATEGY, 3rd ed.
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Dutta, Prajit K. STRATEGIES AND GAMES: THEORY AND PRACTICE. MIT Press, 1999.
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