Between appeasement and belligerent moralism: The evolution of moral conduct in international politics

What are the conditions for "moral'' conduct in international politics to b e viable? This question is explored by modeling regional conflicts as a two -stage game in which imitation of other countries' strategies and public op inion formation processes are assumed to have an impact on a country's stra tegic choice. The results derived by using the notion of an evolutionary st able strategy point to some very special conditions for moral conduct to em erge and survive, a fact that may explain the historical finding that there have been rather rare periods during which peaceableness did indeed prevai l in international politics, at least at a regional level.