CO-EVOLUTION IN ITERATED PRISONER'S DILEMMA WITH INTERMEDIATE LEVELS OF COOPERATION: APPLICATION TO MISSILE DEFENSE

There is a widespread perception that in conflict situations, more intermediate choices between full peace and total war makes full peace less likely. This view is a motivation for opposing the proposed National Missile Defense. This perception is partly due to research in the abstract game of Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma. This paper critically evaluates this perception.