Chapter 5 Regional integration, development and peace process

The most powerful observation of Keynes is the potential role of prisoners' dilemma setting the forces for an over-arming by individual nations since each individual decision is correctly based on individual rationality, which unfortunately brings the collective disaster of an excessively armed world. The over-arming only hurts us by reducing our economic well-being, which clears the way for a violent conflict. How do we get out of this collective mess? Keynes suggested the role of negotiation, arbitration and coalition formation and application of moral ethics and penalty mechanism to break the tyranny of the prisoners' dilemma – a strategic concept unknown to Keynes.