The Download of the Week is Divide and Conquer by Eric A. Posner, Kathryn E. Spier and Adrian Vermeule. Here is the abstract:
The maxim “divide and conquer” (divide et impera) is invoked frequently
in law, history, and politics, but often in a loose or undertheorized
way. We suggest that the maxim is a placeholder for a complex of ideas
related by a family resemblance, but differing in their details,
mechanisms and implications. We provide an analytic taxonomy of divide
and conquer mechanisms in the settings of a Stag Hunt Game and an
indefinitely-repeated Prisoners’ Dilemma. A number of applications are
considered, including labor law, bankruptcy, constitutional design and
the separation of powers, imperialism and race relations, international
law, litigation and settlement, and antitrust law. Conditions under
which divide and conquer strategies reduce or enhance social welfare,
and techniques that policy makers can use to combat divide and conquer
tactics, are also discussed.
Highly recommended.