POLI 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Sistan, Security Dilemma, Game Theory
Document Summary
The security dilemma - how we get to war (and how to prevent it). States try to maximize relative power. (they want to be the most powerful state) !-they try and become the hegemon. Problem: only one state can be a hegemon. Why are we not all dead? (jervis, pg. John m says: the structure of the international system forces states which seek only to be secure to act aggressively towards each other. !-i. e. wars are inevitable. States calculate the costs and benefits of their actions. (try to get what they want with the means they have at their disposal) States base their decisions on the decisions of other states. A british officer writes of the possibilities of british or russian railway building on the. !1) if we build a railway and they don t, we gain defensive advantage at high cost. !2) if they build a railway and we don t, they gain offensive advantage at high cost.
