Collaborative Research in Power and Unilateral Initiatives in Explicit Bargaining

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This project is collaborative with SES 9117262. This project continues and extends a theory of bargaining and deterrence studied under previous NSF grants. The theory tested here integrates theories of bilateral deterrence with those of unilateral positive initiatives. The most important new idea under test is that power relations between parties - in par- ticular, high ability of both parties to punish each other - condition the success of conciliatory initiatives. The extended theory is tested in a series of laboratory experiments in which parties bargain, exchanging offers and counteroffers, while also having the capability to levy punitive damage on each other. Results identify abstract, general conditions under which con- flicting parties can produce conciliation without intervention of mediators or arbitrators.