Power, Status, and the Stability of Hierarchies

Speaker: Dr Mert Kimya

Affiliaiton: University of Sydney

Location: Room 128A, Human Performance Building (#26A), St Lucia Campus

Zoom: https://uqz.zoom.us/j/82603079317

Abstract: We develop a game-theoretic framework to analyze social hierarchies, focusing on power and status considerations. We introduce and characterize the notions of stability and weak stability. Then, we study two applications. First, we analyze status hierarchies in a society where individuals are characterized by observable attributes. We explore how status is related to the underlying properties, and how power should be allocated to ensure higher merit leads to higher status. Second, we study factional hierarchies within political parties, examining the conditions that lead to hierarchies dominated by extreme factions and those that result in hierarchies led by moderate factions.