Group formation and competition: instrumental and expressive approaches

Abstract

We construct models of group formation designed to capture some of the key features of political and social competition. The models draw on the ‘citizen candidate’ approach and allow competition to be modelled as either compromise - where all groups influence outcomes; or conflict - where one group wins the right to dictate. We also consider both instrumental and expressive approaches to understanding group formation, first separately and then in a setting which encompasses both approaches. <br><br> Keywords; group formation, expressive behaviour, conflict, compromise <br><br> ISSN 0966-4246