Conflict management and the misapplication of moral hazard theory

This piece develops a formal model of moral hazard and evaluates its utility for the study of conflict management. Although the concept of moral hazard is perhaps heuristically useful, the analysis shows that it generally does not accurately describe the incentive structure produced by the conflict management activities of third parties. Moral hazards only occur when there is an opportunity for agents to take ‘hidden actions’, and this is seldom the case where humanitarian intervention is concerned. Thus, the application of moral hazard theory to conflict management may lead analysts and policy makers astray.