POLI 244 Chapter : A Study of International Cooperation by Robert Jervis NOTES.txt
30 Jan 2014
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From balance to concert: a study of international security cooperation by robert. Anarchy and the security dilemma make cooperation seemingly impossible. Presumably, there must be some mechanism which allows states to bind themselves (and partners) not to defect, or at least some mechanism by which to detect defection early enough to respond appropriately. (170- Jervis identifies two main variables, the offense/defense balance [x1] and the ability to distinguish between offensive/defensive postures [x2]. Using these two variables he creates a two-by-two matrix with four possible strategic environments: This world is very dangerous because countries have an incentive to take offensive action to increase their security and they have an inherent mistrust of each other because they cannot determine their neighbors" intentions from their actions. The security dilemma is strong in this environment. The security dilemma will exist in this world, but the defensive advantage will give countries an incentive to invest in primarily defensive capabilities.
