India and Pakistan Foreign Policy Explained by Nash Equilibrium
http://www.businessworld.in/article/War-Games/14-11-2019-179005/
India and Pakistan have had a well documented, tumultuous relationship that has been marked by violence, threats of war, and the removal of bilateral ties. Since 1947, after Great Britain partitioned British India, conflicts between India and Pakistan have only got worse with the Kashmir conflict only adding more flame to the fire.
In the article, author Dr. Amit Kapoor discusses how foreign policy of both countries can be determined by Nash Equilibrium. According to the information provided in the article, Pakistan has been trying to garner media attention to threaten nuclear war against India. However, India must question whether the gains from abstaining from further nuclear escalation will outweigh the return of pursuing a policy of aggression against Pakistan.
Thus, using game-theory models, the author tries to show the best possible policy option in the event of whether or not they should revoke its no-first-use policy on nuclear weapons. India and Pakistan can choose to either launch a nuclear attack or not to attack at all. The dominant strategy for either country would be attacking, giving a positive payoff. However, over time, this strategy would only result in negative payoffs, as eventually, both countries will end up hurting themselves through constant war and receive negative payoffs and destruction.
Thus, the author says that the best possible option for India and Pakistan is simply not attacking at all. It is in both countries’ best interest to cooperate and resort to no-attack. By not having destruction and fighting between the two countries, they can both maximize their payoffs.
This relates to what we learned in class because it delves into the idea of how Nash Equilibrium can affect policy making. In class, we have talked about how a Nash equilibrium can be used to evaluate what is the best route of action for people in a certain situation. In this case, India and Pakistan can choose whether or not fighting would be net-better for their country or result in a negative outcome for both. All in all, it was very fascinating to see how the author was able to use game theory to illustrate the relationship between two countries and its effect on foreign policy and society.