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arXiv · 2202.10072

Equilibria of Attacker-Defender Games

Zsombor Z. Méder·Carsten K. W. de Dreu·Jörg Gross
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Abstract

Attempts at predatory capture may provoke a defensive response that reduces the very value of the predated resource. We provide a game-theoretic analysis of simultaneous-move, two-player Attacker-Defender games that model such interactions. When initial endowments are equal, Attackers win about a third of such games in equilibrium. Under power disparities, Attackers become particularly aggressive when they are approximately one-third poorer than Defenders. With non-conflictual outside options Attackers become exceptionally aggressive when their opponent has access to high-benefit, low-cost production, and refrain from attack most when they are unilaterally provided with a high-benefit, high-cost production option.

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Zsombor Z. Méder, Carsten K. W. de Dreu, Jörg Gross. 2022-02-21. Equilibria of Attacker-Defender Games. https://arxiv.org/abs/2202.10072

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