ABSTRACT
The rationalist explanations for war suggest that the incentive to misrepresent information about one’s reservation point, i.e. its military capabilities and resolve, is one of the main culprits for bargaining failures between states (Fearon, 1995). Uncertain about each other’s reservation points, disputing states may be unable to reach a negotiated settlement, leading to the outbreak of war. This implies that any mechanism that can reduce uncertainty in the environment should increase the disputants’ abilities to avoid bargaining failures.
