Theoretical Foundations of EITM

9–11 June 2025

One of the center goals of the EITM program is to promote theoretically informed empirical research. Game theory is a primary tool for building rigorous theories because politics most often involve strategic interactions which lend themselves to game-theoretic analysis. For example, challengers in a parliamentary or congressional race will consider the incumbents' response to such a challenge when deciding whether to run for candidacy or not. Likewise, rebel groups will consider the ability and willingness of an autocrat to fight a rebellion when challenging him. At the same time, standard introductions to game theory often imply that such theories generate only point predictions, unsuitable for testing. In the theoretical foundations seminar we first review basic ingredients of game-theoretic models. We then look at important varieties of rational choice models, specifically non-cooperative game theory and spatial voting models, in a form that emphasizes the techniques by which these models can be used to generate testable implications through comparative statics analysis and the analysis of parameter variations across a population.

In the theoretical foundations seminar we first review basic ingredients of game-theoretic models. We then look at important varieties of rational choice models, specifically non-cooperative game theory and spatial voting models, in a form that emphasizes the techniques by which these models can be used to generate testable implications through comparative statics analysis and the analysis of parameter variations across a population.

Thomas Bräuninger is a Professor of Political Economy at the University of Mannheim. His area of research is comparative politics and formal theory with a focus on the effect of political institutions on policy outcomes. His current research focuses on voting behavior, party competition, electoral systems, legislative politics and propaganda. His work has been published in, among other journals, the British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Legislative Studies Quarterly, Political Analysis and Political Science Research and Methods.