Abstract
Specific reciprocity — the phrase is due to Robert Keohane — is a condition in which two parties give to each other at least roughly equivalent treatment in respect to some specific aspect of their relations.1 The principle of specific reciprocity holds that this condition is a just one: it is only fair that there should be a ‘two-way street’ on such and such a matter. For example, if we allow your national airline two flights a day into our premier airport, it is only fair that you should permit our national airline two flights a day into yours; if we buy a lot of your goods, it is only right that you should buy a lot of ours — ‘imbalances’ in bilateral trade should be ‘corrected’. It follows that if one party decides unilaterally to haul back from a formal agreement or tacit understanding providing for equivalent benefits, the second party is entitled to retaliate in kind: ‘tit-for-tat’. Fear of such retaliation is a deterrent of sorts.
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© 2011 G. R. Berridge
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Berridge, G.R. (2011). Specific Reciprocity and the 105 Soviet Spies. In: The Counter-Revolution in Diplomacy and other essays. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230309029_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230309029_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-33214-4
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