We propose a model of cycles of distrust and conflict. Overlapping generations of agents from two groups sequentially … a sequence of bad actions originated. Assuming that both sides are not extremists, spirals of distrust and conflict get … this mechanism can be useful in interpreting cycles of ethnic conflict and international war, and how it also emerges in …

conflict when defense capability is fixed, but may allow for security and prosperity when defense capability is endogenous … of conflict and stagnation. We illustrate the model by analyzing the rise of civilization in Sumeria and Egypt, the first …