Game Theory as it Relates to Abortion in Canada Essay -- Politics

Flanagan’s Status Quo In 1988 abortion legislation was abolished by the supreme court of Canada (Flanagan 120). Current law was deemed to violate a women’s â€Å"security of person† under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Wikipedia). Drafting and passing abortion legislation became the responsibility of the current Prime Minister and the House of Commons (Flanagan 121). Attempts by Brian Mulroney to introduce abortion legislation into the House of Commons and senate failed repeatedly (Flanagan 121). ) Despite public opinion favoring moderate legislation, abortion in Canada remains unlegislated (Flanagan 121).Under the circumstances stated why does Canadian abortion law remain in a state of limbo? In Game Theory and Canadian Politics Thomas Flanagan attempts to elucidate this seeming anomaly in Canadian politics. Firstly, the inability to pass new legislation is explained by the tendency for the status quo to prevail when a â€Å"cyclical opinion structure†(Flanagan 121) is present in the legislating body (Flanagan 121). Secondly, Flanagan (121) emphasizes how parliamentary outcomes are influenced by the procedures with which legislation is passed. These two points are illuminated and analyzed using aspects of game theory. Rational choice theory is used to analyze the parliamentary procedure and cyclical opinion structure that caused all possible resolutions and amendments introduced into the House of Commons to fail. Than, the game of chicken and extensive form games are introduced to explicate bill C-43’s majority vote in the House of Commons and subsequent failure in the senate. Although enlightening, Flanagan’s analysis lacks in-depth explanations and pertinent aspects of game theory. He comments on the vote’s failure t... ...the outcome is seen to mirror real life events. Finally, certain aspects of Flanagan’s sequential game model were critiqued and found deficient. Although Flanagan’s case study was enlightening, some aspects may be flawed and an enhanced analysis farther explicates the phenomenon of the â€Å"staying power of the status quo.† Works Cited Abortion in Canada." Wikipedia. 01 Apr.-May 2007 . Brams, Steven J. Rational Politics. Washinton, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc., 1985. Flanagan, Thomas. Game Theory and Canadian Politics. Toronto: University of Toronoto Press, 1999. Gates, Scott, and Brian D. Humes. Games, Information and Politics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997. Green, Donald P., and Ian Shapiro. Pathologies of Rational Choice. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1994.