ABSTRACT
Introduction Political theory has approached the study of war from many different perspectives. There is a group of theories called ‘realist’ explanations of war, based on the assumption that countries act rationally and, therefore, follow a predictable behaviour derived from utility maximization. These theories use a variety of approaches including game theory, which has produced a new way of looking at conflict. For instance, animal contests, litigation, wage negotiation and international conflict are clear examples of how game theory has been successfully applied.
