Strategic Foundations — The Concept Map

The strategic foundations
of verification

Ten concepts, three threads, one through-line: every enforcement lever runs on detection. This map covers the game-theory half of what Module 0 assumes; the IR primer covers the institutional half. Every node opens into a short explainer with a hands-on exercise. Click anywhere, or pick a guided path under the map.

01 cooperation 02 credibility 03 inspection → part two ✓ = visited

guided paths, if you want one:

Optional · when you're done exploring

Check yourself

Eight quick questions — drawn fresh from a bank of fourteen each time, two per area. Instant feedback, ~4 min, nothing is graded or stored.

For instructors · thread → learning objective map

LO	Thread	The learner can…
LO1	01 · Cooperation	explain why cooperation among self-interested parties depends on repetition, detection probability, and error tolerance — and predict how noise or frequency changes destabilize it.
LO2	02 · Credibility	explain why rational actors can fail to reach deals both prefer (commitment problem), and classify a commitment as cheap talk, sunk costs, or tied hands by what it costs and who punishes retreat.
LO3	03 · Inspection	explain why optimal inspection is randomized, why the equilibrium violation rate is nonzero, and why announcing the inspection strategy improves deterrence.
LO4	→ Part two	state what this primer deliberately leaves to the IR primer — institutional commitment devices (delegation, hardware) and the compliance system (the three R's, detection → attribution → response) — and the shared through-line: every lever runs on detection.

Strategic Foundations · optional primer for the Verification Track · every claim links to its source · progress is saved on this device