ABSTRACT
Games theory is a mathematical theory invented by J. von Neumann and first described at length by him and 0. Morgenstem in their classic text ‘Theory of Games and Economic Behaviour’. It is designed to enable one rationally to choose the optimum strategy in a game. Although games theory is a theory about games, it is often claimed on its behalf that its implications are considerably more wide-ranging, and that it can be put to work in the context of divers political, economic, and international situations which are supposed to be in some respect analogous to games. The subject of this paper is the question of whether this claim can be made good in the case of nuclear deterrence. The outcomes of the various possible combinations of moves by the players in a two-person game can be represented in a two-dimensional matrix. Consider an adaptation of a well-known childrens’ game.
