Credible commitments and international cooperation: Guaranteeing contracts without external enforcement

Abstract

Understanding when and how international entities can establish beneficial cooperative agreements under anarchy is one of the most significant challenges facing theorists of international relations. In this article, I present a game-theoretic model that explains and predicts conditions under which self-enforcing agreements are possible, and conditions under which cooperation can be aided by provisions to an agreement that change the incentives of the negotiating parties. I argue, first, that the benefits and risks of unilateral defection do not always inhibit the formation of mutually beneficial agreements, and second, that even when the risks of defection are high, agreements can sometimes be constructed that mitigate this risk through provisions that act as guarantors of the agreement. By constraining their own future behavior and protecting their partners, international actors can sometimes create conditions conducive to cooperation through the contracting process.