Higher education in Asian countries and the role of international ...

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perfect information and imperfect information games; peace and war game, and coordination
game. Game theory analyzes the available choices and possible outcomes as well. Game theory
when applied to the study of IGOs-states relations, it helps to understand their actions and
interaction. This theory is also aimed to simplify and to solve problems faced by international
actors by assisting states and IGOs in situation analysis and in taking rational decisions. The
application of Game theory in the study of IGO is not very common however it will make its
place with the passage of time.
3.5.1.1 Coordination game theory
The concept of coordination games is widely used in social sciences in order to study the
situations in which actors, individuals or groups drive mutual gains through mutual decisions.
Coordination game is a type of cooperative games and presents interaction between individual or
grouped players: states and IGOs. In coordination games players are free to choose the same or
corresponding strategies, which result in multiple pure Nash equilibria: usually more than two
Nash equilibria are involved. In these games the idea of a coordination problem is formalized
and it concentrates on the possibilities for agreements. Coordination game is neither zero sum
game nor sequential in nature. This game can be extended for more than two strategies and for
more than two players but when applied to state-IGOs there is always at least one IGO is present
in the game while the other players or actors can be state/s. Payoffs for each player- state or
organization- depend on the choices available and the strategies adopted by both their own and
their opponents. According to Bryant coordination model for the payoffs of each player can be as
(Bryant, 1983)
Where is the choice of player and is the vector of choices by other players, assuming that
are multiple Nash equilibria and
In these cooperation base games each player takes an action in response to others and selects a
strategy to maximize his payoff. According to Russell Cooper the strategy based payoff for
player can be written as,
Where and is the strategy adopted by player and is the strategy adopted
by other players than player (Cooper, 1999)