The Strategy of Conflict

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   Sometimes you win a negotiation precisely by visibly limiting your own options — someone who burns the bridge behind them clearly cannot retreat.

   The Strategy of Conflict · 1960

   The power to constrain an opponent comes from the power to bind yourself: whoever cuts off their own retreat becomes credible.

   Schelling explained why a promise or threat only becomes credible if the other side sees you cannot back down anymore. A classic example: a captain who burns his own ships after landing shows his army that retreat is no longer an option, which, paradoxically, makes the opposing side more cautious.

   “The power to constrain an adversary depends on the power to bind oneself; that, in bargaining, weakness is often strength.”

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