The Mathematics of Foreign Policy

Newswise — Shifting allegiances in the European Union have more to do with European politics than the war in Iraq, says UAB game theory expert Don Ross, PhD. Game theory is used to describe how opponents' differing strategies interact. "Germany first opposed the war for purely domestic political reasons. France then sided with Germany to close the rift the British had opened between those two countries over EU issues. This new France-Germany allegiance interacted with the battle over the EU constitutional voting rules that caused Spain to side with the U.S. to support the U.K. Now, the fall of the Spanish government resulting from the recent bombing has isolated the U.K. again." France's opposition had more to do with influencing EU issues than moral attitudes toward the U.S. or Iraq."