Prisoner’s Dilemma Essay

The idea of prisoner’s dilemma promoted by Axelrod has created different levels of interpretation of relationships revolving around the international arena. The idea which originated from the rational choice discipline has paved the way for alternative explanations in the practice of governance in the anarchic arena.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Due to security issues prevalent in the international arena the concept of prisoners/security dilemma comes into the picture. According to (Mc-Graw Hill Companies, 2005, p.3) â€Å"security dilemma arises also when we don’t assume that nations and their leaders are inherently evil, war-mongering people.† In addition, the lack of trust and pursuit of relative gains among members of the international community paved the way for such actions among states. According to (Mc-Graw Hill Companies, 2005, p.7) â€Å"if trust is lacking there is likely to have strong relative gain concerns.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Thus, there is a need of continuous information sharing, consensus, and trust among members of the international community. With the application of this will the issue of security dilemma be alleviated. According to (Mc-Graw Hill Companies, 2005, p.8) â€Å"security dilemma can arise between states in the anarchic international system due to lack of trust, misperception, and miscommunication, and the inherent ambiguity of every state’s attempt to acquire military power to survive.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One example in catering and addressing the challenges posed by security and prisoners’ dilemma is the creation of institutions that will foster the mechanisms and processes to alleviate the idea. It must be able to create communication measures, pave the way for trust to occur between states and clarification and monitoring that will enhance the distinction of offensive and defensive purposes. With these initiatives, the negative setback created by security and prisoners dilemma can be alleviated and prevented. In this light, cooperation may be possible. Work Cited Mc-Graw Hill Companies. ‘Prisoners Dilemma’ 2005 accessed December 10, 2007 [on-line] PowerPoint Presentation.