We tend to identify peace, stability, and the quiescence of conflict with notions like trust, good faith, and mutual respect. To the extent that this point of view actually encourages trust and respect it is good. But where trust and good faith do not exist and cannot be made to by our acting as though they did, we may wish to solicit advice from the underworld, or from ancient despotisms, on how to make agreements work when trust and good faith are lacking and there is no legal recourse for breach of contract.

XREF: Connects to classic principal-agent and contract theory, as well as game-theoretic treatments of cooperation without trust (e.g., Schelling, Axelrod, hostage mechanisms in history).

Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, loc. 56