Thomas Schelling: Game Theory, Deterrence and Strategic Behaviour

Thomas Schelling has been a key innovator of international relations theory. He is considered to be the founder of strategic realism and bargaining theory. He pioneered the use of game theory in analyzing strategic interactions in situations of crisis. Many fundamental concepts for the analysis of conflict resolu- tion, strategic interaction, nuclear and conventional deterrence are due to his studies. Just mentioning a few can give us an idea of his intellectual heritage not just for IR theory, but more broadly on social sciences. Focal points, credible commitment, brinkmanship, manipulation of risk, speech as a strategic device and tipping points are some of the key concepts he introduced to analyze strategic interactions.