The Logic of Politics

Description

Why do rational actors, each pursuing their own interest, so often produce outcomes that none of them would choose? This course approaches political life through the lenses of rational choice theory and game theory—frameworks that model politics as strategic interaction among purposeful actors. Students learn to represent conflict and cooperation as games, to identify the incentives that structure behavior, and to trace how individual choices aggregate into collective outcomes. From voting and coalition-building to bargaining, deterrence, and the provision of public goods, the course examines how strategic reasoning illuminates the central puzzles of politics. No mathematics beyond basic arithmetic is required.