Spain vs Catalonia: A Game of Chicken
https://globalriskinsights.com/2017/11/game-theory-chicken-catalonia-crisis/
In the article Marc Hernando Santacana analyzes the current conflict between the Spanish government and Catalonia, a region in the northeast of Spain. After years of trying to gain independence, the Catalonian government called for a referendum, which led to the imprisonment or exile of many politicians. Marc Hernando Santacana relates the whole conflict over independence to “a game of chicken”. Instead of cooperating and finding an agreement where both players benefit, the Spanish government has been sending the national police into Catalonia to control the situation, while the Catalonian government has been trying to get international support from other European countries. Both governments are going down a path where neither will profit from the outcome.
A game of chicken is a perfect description of what is happening in Catalonia. A game of chicken consists of two players driving towards each other, the last person to turn is considered the loser and the other the winner. However, if neither of the players move they will crash and both players will lose. In this specific example, the two players are Catalonia and Spain and they are both going against each other. Both are scared to turn out of pride and as a result they are going to crash and both will lose. We can already see some consequences of both parties not backing down, on the one side you have most of the Catalonian government that has been imprisoned, but Spain has now lost the counter independence majority in Catalonia because of abuse of power and excessive use of force. The only way both parties can tie in this game is if they turn at the same time, or in other words if they cooperate and reach an agreement.