Game Theory in Trumpian Politics and Impeachment
https://www.salon.com/2019/09/20/donald-trump-and-game-theory-expert-says-no-brilliant-3-d-chess-is-involved/
One of the defining characteristics of the current US president is his inherent capacity to be completely and utterly unpredictable. While the consensus on the success of this political strategy is skewed, it has undoubtedly become a hallmark of the character of the President. Enter: game theory, the recent topic of discussion in our beloved Networks class. Since it has the ability to be applied to essentially any game/ situation, it was only a matter of time before someone attempted to use it to quantify the strategies of the leader of the free world. In the article provided, the writer consults a game theory scholar from NYU to see if it can be applied to Trump’s tactics.
The author first lays out the structure of the political game in mind. In order to win, a party must “amass more power than the other players in order to advance their own goals. Victory can be achieved through cooperation with the other players, domination over them or some combination of the two.” This description reminds us of the various strategies in basic game theory: pure, dominant, etc. Then, the writer consults Steven Brams, NYU game- theory scholar, to describe the strategies embedded in Trump’s unpredictable style, saying that Trump randomizes his strategies to appear unpredictable to his opponents. However, Brams warns how while randomization makes the individual appear unpredictable, it also makes the individual harder to trust by allies. Here, we see Bram employ a social context with respect to randomization in game theory.
Given the current political threat of impeachment to the President, Brams discusses the possible outcomes of such an event with respect to game theory. First, he brings in Nancy Pelosi as the opponent of the game. From Trump’s perspective, the political game of impeachment entails a “total- conflict” game, or a zero- sum game, as there are no compromises in discussions of impeachment. On the other hand, for Pelosi, the outcomes are less clear. She may have other agendas in mind regarding impeachment, especially with the upcoming elections. Thus, Brams suggests her perspective on the game is probably not zero- sum. All in all, the article describes how the basic concepts of game theory can be applied to the current political climate of the US.