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posted by janrinok on Wednesday June 27 2018, @01:53AM   Printer-friendly
from the get-rid-of-your-friends dept.

Researchers at Yale University have found that the more allies a country has, the less power it has. The authors say the findings have potential implications for current events.

The scientists published their results in the July issue of IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica (JAS), a joint publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Chinese Association of Automation (CAA).

The scientists developed a simple, yet sophisticated, computer game to examine relationships between countries and the resulting strategic environments."We have developed a power allocation game to study countries' strategic interactions in a complex environment," said Yuke Li from Yale University. Dr. Li and Prof. A. Stephen Morse, the Dudley Professor of distributed control and adaptive control in electrical engineering at Yale University, used the game to ask if having more allies in a networked, strategic environment will always be beneficial to a country in terms of power allocation outcomes. "The answer is, surprisingly, no. This is especially so for a country without sufficient power to mediate between the conflicts among its potential allies."

https://phys.org/news/2018-06-allies-decrease-country-power.html

[Abstract]: The power allocation game on a network: a paradox

At the rate at which the current POTUS is alienating allies, the USA will become even more powerful, as per the above article.


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 27 2018, @03:29PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 27 2018, @03:29PM (#699343)

    I can't speak for everyone, obviously, but this works for me on a personal level too. Being married is like being allied (sort of). However, after living on my own for twelve years now I find:
    I can make decisions faster, without endless negotiation/recrimination.
    I possess greater wealth.
    I enjoy my work without being pressured to seek greater ambitions.
    I come an go whenever and wherever I please.
    I experience less stress overall.

    Seems like allies can be a drag on health, wealth and liberty, both for countries as well as individuals.

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  • (Score: 2) by HiThere on Wednesday June 27 2018, @05:49PM (1 child)

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Wednesday June 27 2018, @05:49PM (#699392) Journal

    An interesting analogy. It's also statistically true that married people live longer than singles. And there are a few other advantages that you overlooked.

    OTOH, if you are constantly in a power struggle with your spouse, then the advantages may well be nullified. To me this speaks more of a personal problem than a problem with marriage itself.

    --
    Javascript is what you use to allow unknown third parties to run software you have no idea about on your computer.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 27 2018, @06:09PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 27 2018, @06:09PM (#699400)

      OTOH, if you are constantly in a power struggle with your spouse, then the advantages may well be nullified. To me this speaks more of a personal problem than a problem with marriage itself

      This may just a problem with 'allies' that have conflicting goals. As the article mentions, conflicts between allies detract from the advantages gained from allying with them. At some point when the goals of two+ allies diverge enough, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of the alliance. The same could be analogous to a marriage.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 28 2018, @09:23AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 28 2018, @09:23AM (#699732)

    Being married is like being allied (sort of).

    Yes, but your problems sound like marriage problems not problems with marriage.