The Most Dangerous Game
https://theconversation.com/what-game-theory-says-about-dealing-with-north-korea-78195
Although the article was written in May of this year shortly after North Korea’s missile tests, I felt like the topic was still extremely relevant and chose this article. The author, Byung-Seong Min, argues that the tensions between North Korea and the rest of the world can be explained by game theory. However, unlike the typical examples that we see in class in which there is a small number of players, and information of the game is known to all the players, in this real life scenario, there are an extremely large amount of players, such as the countries and everyone that is included in the decision making processes, as well as no transparency as to how each country actually feels about each other, the decisions they can make, and their respective payoffs for each decision. This is what is making negotiation close to impossible and creating the current global tensions, placing the world on the brink of a third World War.
With North Korea coming out and saying that they WILL retaliate against any military action, that gave more information about the game, greatly affecting the stance for countries highly involved such as America, China, Japan, and South Korea. As of right now, the author states that China does not want to lose its strategic partnership with North Korea as well as the economic gains from trade, South Korea wants to continue their rapprochement policy, while the US, under President Trump, would like military action. What is important to note is that in the current state of the game that these countries are playing, negotiation is almost impossible, and everyone is trying to play their best response, which is extremely difficult since not all information is shared.
This is an extremely relevant and a prime example of game theory in politics and in the military, as the professor mentioned during class. Stakes are high, information is limited, and it has almost become a game of chicken. No one is fully confident of their payoffs, and therefore the tensions have never been loosened, while no major decisions have been made.