Actors with a weaker BATNA have less bargaining power, but are more likely to seek negotiations.ĭespite the high costs, continued fighting remains the BATNA for all factions in Game of Thrones. The strength of a BATNA is intricately linked to the conditions on the battlefield, which in turn, reflects the potential strength of each participant’s negotiating position and willingness to seek peace.

An important concept for disputants to protect themselves from accepting an agreement that leaves them worse off is called the Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). These three factions have competing positions and interests determining their willingness to engage in a peace summit. Now there are complexities which a conflict map cannot capture-but it illustrates how three main factions have emerged: the Houses of Targaryen, Stark, and Lannister.ĭaniel Kirkpatrick, University of Kent, Author provided How the battlelines are drawn in Game of Thrones. A conflict analysis technique known as “conflict mapping” allows us to graphically display all sides in a conflict and the relationships between them. And in Westeros, the costs are mounting-massive casualties have already been suffered, the financial price of war is growing, and “winter is finally here.” And yet it is still war, not peace, which looms large on the horizon.īefore we explain why peace remains elusive in Westeros, it is necessary to set the context. Violent conflict is seen by many as a rational process involving sequential rounds of fighting, during which the various leaders weigh up the costs and benefits of their strategies at each stage. We all enjoy the drama and intrigue of the power struggles in Westeros-but facing the prospect of an all-out war between the competing Houses raises the question of whether there might be a better way to resolve matters on the continent.

“As a clever man once told me: ‘We make peace with our enemies, not our friends.’” So said Game of Thrones’ Tyrion Lannister. Warning: This article contains spoilers up to and including season 7.

Most powerful houses in westeros