Posted by Eric Posner: Divide and conquer! http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2009_06_14-2009_06_20.shtml#1245167320
[1]Republican divide and conquer the American public. [2]Obama divides and conquers American Jews. [3]Republican congressmen divide and conquer Democrats on cap-and trade. [4]Chrysler and GM divide and conquer automobile dealerships. [5]Interior designers divide and conquer small rooms to create an impression of more space. [6]Marines are not dividing and conquering in Afghanistan. All of this dividing and conquering in just the last few weeks, according to a google news search. Does �divide and conquer� mean anything at all? Or has it become an all-purpose term of abuse? Find out [7]here; an abstract is below. [8]Divide and Conquer Eric A. Posner, Kathryn Spier & Adrian Vermeule 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. References 1. http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/6/16/743088/-The-Republican-Vision-for-AmericaDivide-and-Conquer 2. http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/12027 3. http://spectator.org/blog/2009/06/04/cap-and-trade-divide-and-conqu 4. http://industry.bnet.com/auto/10001471/chrysler-gm-divide-and-conquer-unwanted-dealers/ 5. http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2009/06/14/designer_tricks_for_the_bathroom/ 6. http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/afghanistan/090601/marines-hopefully-learn-more-then-hello-pashto 7. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1414319 8. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1414319
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