The Evolution of Cooperation is a 1984 book written by political scientist Robert Axelrod that expands upon a paper of the same name written by Axelrod and evolutionary biologist W.D. Hamilton. The book details a theory on the emergence of cooperation between individuals, drawing from game theory and evolutionary biology. Since 2006, reprints of the book have included a foreword by Richard Dawkins and have been marketed as a revised edition. The book provides an investigation into how cooperation can emerge and persist (also known as cooperation theory) as elucidated by the application of game theory. The book provides a detailed explanation of the evolution of cooperation, beyond traditional game theory. Academic literature regarding forms of cooperation that are not easily explained in traditional game theory, especially when considering evolutionary biology, largely took its modern form as a result of Axelrod's and Hamilton's influential 1981 paper and the subsequent book. Cooperation theory Operations research The idea that human behavior can be usefully analyzed mathematically gained credibility following the application of operations research in World War II to improve military operations. One famous example involved how the Royal Air Force hunted submarines in the Bay of Biscay. It had seemed to make sense to patrol the areas where submarines were most frequently seen. Then it was pointed out that "seeing the most submarines" depended not only on the number of submarines present but also on the number of eyes looking; i.e., patrol density. Making an allowance for patrol density showed that patrols were more efficient – that is, found more submarines per patrol – in other areas. Making appropriate adjustments increased the effectiveness. Game theory Accounts of the success of operations research during the war, publication in 1944 of John von Neumann and Oskar Morgenstern's Theory of Games and Economic Behavior on the use of game theory for developing and analyzing optimal strategies for military and other uses. Additionally the publication of John William's The Compleat Strategist, a popular exposition of game theory, led to a greater appreciation of mathematical analysis of human behavior. Prisoner's dilemma See main page: Prisoner's dilemma The prisoner's dilemma (invented around 1950 by Merrill M. Flood and Melvin Dresher) is a two person scenario. One version of this involves two criminals who have been caught and imprisoned. The evidence to imprison the criminals for more than a year is insufficient. Both prisoners are presented with the