Your Loss Is My Gain In Geopolitics

Zero-Sum in Geopolitics

This is the concept of zero-sum in game theory. The sum of all the players’ payoffs is equal to zero. There can even be more than two players. Poker and chess are examples of zero-sum games. In poker, the total amount of money bet in every round is won by another player, and in chess, someone wins, and someone loses.

Can geopolitics be a zero-sum game?

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The Game of Global Geopolitics

The most important upgrade from two-player zero-sum games to geopolitics is the large increase in the number of players. Geopolitics has 195 players, each player representing a country.

Countries can gain different types of power, resources, territory, security, or influence, usually at the loss of another country.

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Example

Consider Country A and Country B.

Country A takes territory from country B. So the territory country B loses becomes country A’s gain. But with this territory comes rich, arable land for agriculture. It currently is growing a large crop of wheat.

Country B usually trades this crop with country C. But, now it's country A’s crop, and they aren’t friends with country C. So instead, country A trades with country D.