Trouble in
Common

International relations lab

THE NEXT
MOVE.

Play the Prisoner’s Dilemma

When does hiding a site pay?

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Reference

Sources & model notes

The inspection crisis, harbor dispute, rescue-radio case, names and point values are fictional. Larger point values mean better outcomes for that actor. The repeated model adds points across meetings.

Both orders are revealed after each meeting. The computer’s rule uses only prior orders. A four-meeting replay changes one of Vela’s orders and holds the other three orders and Orin’s rule fixed.

The two draft agreements start from the same situation. Both use the same inspections and expect future meetings. The exercise assumes both sides honor a signed draft. The projected defense totals assume both invest all the new savings in defense.

The treaty cards paraphrase those provisions. The questions about motives ask for possible explanations and evidence. The illustrations depict invented places.