Lords of War Simulation

The Lords of War Simulation is best described by the neo-liberalist theory. Neo-liberalism best describes this game because it supports the ideology that everything humans do is in their own self interest. The theory also believes that people only cooperate with each other out of fear; actions of people playing Lords of War validate this theory. To succeed, neo-liberals need cooperation, institutions to mediate, as well as a fear of being defected on. Neo- liberals do not feel that humans are good in nature, but will argue that they have the capacity to bond together for the greater good, for their own personal benefit.

By definition neo-liberalism is “a reinterpretation of liberalism that posits that even in an anarchic international system, states will cooperate because of their continuous interactions with each other and because it is in their self-interest to do so; institutions provide the framework for cooperative interactions.” (Mingst, 2011) The theory (neo-liberalism) relies on the prisoner’s dilemma, the initiation and use of institutions, and the common interest of one’s self to gain power and/ or advance without hurting themselves.

“Institutions are essential; they facilitate cooperation by building on common interests, hence maximizing the gains for all parties. Institutions provide a guaranteed framework of interactions; they suggest that there will be an expectation of future encounters. They facilitate cooperation by building on common interest, thus maximizing the gain for all parties.” (Mingst, 2011) This theory supports the idea that if one cooperates with the other they both will gain, but once the established trust is lost between the cooperating countries, one should do whatever is in their own economic i...

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... make anything, because their partner would begin to defect as well. They were coaxed to cooperate by the prisoner’s dilemma, collective security and democratic peace theories, which is proven by the end results of the game where everybody’s amounts were fairly similar if not equal to one another. Instead of fighting to be more powerful, counties joined together to be equal.

Works Cited

1. Mingst, K. A. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 78). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

2. Mingst, K. A. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 78). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

3. Mingst, K. A. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 79). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

4. Mingst, K. A. (2011). Essentials of international relations. (5th ed., p. 81). New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.