Exam 2 Flashcards
What is BATNA?
Best alternative to negotiated agreement, it determines the resistance point of each actor or bargaining power.
What factors can influence what a BATNA consists of?
Status quo (high tariffs now), potential domestic change in policy (want protectionism), and potential international change in policy (have a trade pact with other states)
Why is BATNA important?
It constrains the bargaining space and is often a function of relative power
What is a Pareto improving offer?
An arrangement that makes at least one actor better off without making any actor worse off
What is a Pareto optimal offer?
An arrangement that cannot make any actor better off without making an actor worse off
What is the relationship between Pareto improving and Pareto optimal offers?
The Pareto optimal offer is at the limit of Pareto improving offers
What is a Pareto frontier?
The set of all Pareto optimal offers
What does one dimensional bargaining consist of?
No offer improves both sides’ utilities simultaneously, and all offers are already on the frontier
What is the zone of agreement?
The space between both sides resistance points (the blue brackets). A would be an acceptable agreement, while B would not, because it is beyond the left side’s resistance point
What happens in this scenario?
There is no zone of agreement, therefore no agreement is possible, also known as deadlock.
Why, in a situation of deadlock, would the negotiating parties even come to the table?
Resistance point is private information, and false claims of resistance point may make it appear to be deadlock, but it really isn’t
What is the green zone?
Pareto improving offers relative to A
What is the purple line?
The ideal point they end up at (Pareto frontier)
What determines bargaining outcomes?
In many ways, it is arbitrary. But, it can be determined by resistance points (BATNA), knowledge about the location of the Pareto frontier (which is determined by context, and not easy to find, according to Odell), and bargaining strategies (rule changing vs rule abiding, cooperative vs confrontational, though almost every bargain involves some confrontation and cooperation)
What does the blue cross represent?
The resistance points of the actors.
Why will the agreement wind up in the green?
Because both state know the Pareto frontier
How can this scenario occur?
When there is currently investment, and there is a negotiation for new investment, if there is another option for China to take all their investment to, say Cambodia, then Laos’ BATNA is below their current level
What is a two level game?
When domestic politics affects your BATNA
What are the steps of the negotiation process (two level game)?
Domestic groups pressure their government, the government negotiates an agreement, then the agreement has to be ratified domestically
What factors affect a negotiators win-set?
Domestic preferences (political power of groups that oppose or support compromise, hawks v doves), domestic institutions (ratification rules, like the US senate supermajority), and negotiators strategies
What is happening here?
In a two level game, the US resistance point has gone down because of the domestic pressures they face.
What happens when a negotiator faces a more constrained win-set?
They are more likely to obtain a favorable deal, but if one or more negotiators face a constrained win-set, bargaining is more likely to fail.
What is an international regime?
Sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules and decision making procedures around which actors expectations converge in a given area of international relations
What are international institutions?
Explicit arrangements, negotiated among international actors that prescribe, proscribe, or authorize behavior
What are international organizations?
Actors that implement policy decisions and pursue their interests strategically
What is regime theory?
Theories about international regimes, institutions, and organizations
What is rational choice institutionalism?
Theories about international regimes, institutions, and organizations based on rational choice assumptions
What was Keohane’s first label of his work?
Modified structural realism- states are rational, unitary actors, motivated by survival, and relative power is the ultimate arbiter of conflict but he reexamines realism in the light of rational choice theory and with sensitivity to the significance of international institutions
What was Keohane’s second label of his work?
Regime theory- in After Hegemony.
What was Keohane’s third label of his work?
Neoliberalism- Apropos the “Neo-neo” debates on relative vs absolute gains, but this was a bad name.
What was Keohane’s final label for his work?
institutionalism- economical vis a vis the rise of constructivism.
What were the common assumptions in the 1980s?
American hegemony is declining and multipolarity is imminent.
What was Keohane’s idea on if cooperation would survive post American hegemony?
He was an optimist
What is functionalism?
An explanation that accounts for causes in terms of effects, we observe such institutions and rationalize their existence
What are the blind spots of functionalism?
Emergent phenomena (ex. Invisible hand) have no function and unintended consequences
Why do functionalists believe state’s create regimes?
To solve problems of cooperation and regimes serve their intended purpose.
When does Keohane believe that regimes will arise?
In dense policy space, because ad hoc agreements will interfere with each other.
What does Keohane believe international regimes are a response to?
Market failure, potential gains are left unrealized by transaction costs
What are some transaction costs with bargaining?
How do you decide who participates (specify terms of membership)?, How do you structure interaction (provide stable rules, iteration)? How do you facilitate substantive agreement (foster reputation, knowledge of interest, BATNAs)?
What are some transaction costs with information?
How do you understand the issue (policy expertise, scientific research)? How do you monitor compliance (data clearinghouse, reports generation)? How do you avoid moral hazard and adverse selection (reduce information asymmetry)?
What are some transaction costs with decision making?
IO already established
How do you operate efficiently (bureaucratic economies of scale)? How do you create neutrality (autonomous bureaucracy)?
What are some transaction costs associated with compliance?
How do you resolve conflicts (judicial arbitration)? How do you enforce agreements (specific penalties, conditions for exclusion)?
What is the relationship between Keohane and Pareto optimality?
By reducing transaction costs, international regimes move us closer to the Pareto frontier
What are the rational choice redux?
Methodological individualism, consistent preferences, and instrumental rationality (maximize expected utility and strategic thinking)
What are the flaws in maximizing expected utility and thinking strategically?
Short term memory bottlenecks prevent use of all new info, there is an inability to assign probabilities (Bayesian update), cognitive biases in processing information, an unwillingness to perform complex analysis and plan for the future, satisfying (settling for what’s good enough rather than strive for the best possible outcome),
What is another flaw in rational choice specific to governments?
Governments are large complex organizations composed of human beings with the cognitive flaws.
What does bounded rationality mean for actors?
Actors need to simplify their decision making process and adhering to regime rules simplifies. There really isn’t a choice whether to adhere to regimes at the expense of maximizing utility by making every little decision, but rather which rules of thumb you use, regimes substitute multilateral rules of thumb for your unilateral ones, and you get the added bonus that the other actor’s behavior becomes more predictably cooperative.
What is the range of substantive content?
From shallow to deep
What is the range of participation?
Limited to broad
What is the range of legalization?
Anarchy to hard law hierarchy
What are the three components of legalization?
Nonlegal to jus cogens norms, precision of commitments (vague to clear) and delegation of authority (ad hoc diplomacy to autonomous agents)
What is a framework convention?
Promoting dialogue, persuasion, and learning (via research and information sharing). Creates legitimacy via broad participation and sovereign equality. Starts with shallow cooperation then deepens over time. Example- Kyoto protocol
What is plurilateralism?
States with shared, intense preferences create highly legalized organizations with strong enforcement. Participation expands over time with accession protocols. Examples- EU and NAFTA
What is soft law?
Expecting compliance failures early on, use incentives to encourage increasing compliance, increases legalization over time. Examples- Regulatory agencies, human rights regimes
What is delegation?
A conditional grant of authority from a principal to an agent
What is a principal?
An actor who is able to both grant authority and rescind it
What is agency slack?
Independent action by an agent that is undesired by the principal
What is agent autonomy?
The range of potential independent action available to an agent within established mechanisms of control
What are police patrols?
Direct monitoring of agents
What are fire alarms?
Affected parties bring evidence of agency slack to the attention of principals
What is forum shopping?
States delegate authority to the most favorable IO
What is the central insight of Neo-functionalism?
IO agents use their autonomy to influence principals
What are the benefits of delegation?
Specialization, policy externalities, collective decision making, dispute resolution, credibility, lock in
What happens to delegation when there is greater preference heterogeneity among members?
There will be a reduced likelihood of delegation to the IO, because they are likely to disagree