MANUNKIND: Determinants and Dynamics of Collaborative Exploitation

manunkind

• Rusch, Hannes Email Principal Investigator Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law
• Cao, Gewei Email Doctoral Researcher Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law
• Teufel, Julia Email Doctoral Researcher Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security and Law

This is the institutional data repository for results emerging from the ERC-StG project "MANUNKIND" (Grant ID: 101040002, PI: Hannes Rusch).

Project abstract:

Chattel slavery and other forms of collaborative exploitation are with us since ancient times, inflicting unfathomable suffering on countless generations of victims. And even though slav­ery is outlawed globally today, its modern-day successors continue to cause severe harm for millions. Previous research has compiled rich datasets on the prevalence of collaborative exploitation across cultures and across time. A startling gap exists in the literature, however, with respect to modeling the fundamental incentive structures of collaborative exploitation and under­stand­ing the psychological processes involved. Hence, we do not understand well how the macro-level patterns and dynamics observable in the existing data emerge from micro-level traits, decisions, and behavior.

Addressing this knowledge gap, this project (1) analyzes collaborative exploitation as a strategic interaction between exploiters and exploited, (2) scrutinizes the psychological mechanisms and traits involved in exploitative interactions, and (3) traces how the aggregation of these micro-level components into macro-level patterns and dynamics is shaped by, and interacts with, the ecological, economic, and ideological con­di­tions it is situated in.

To do so, we develop, test, and disseminate a versatile game theoretic framework and corre­spond­ing new paradigms for behavioral experiments to advance the multidisciplinary study of collabo­ra­tive exploitation. Being the first to apply rigorous formal modeling and transparent preregistered tests of theory-grounded hypotheses against experimental and archival data to understand collab­o­ra­tive exploitation, this project advances into uncharted territory. Thus, it breaks new ground for research in several disciplines and at multiple levels of analysis. Moreover, its results can inform policy-making decisions that aim to end modern-day slavery and other contemporary forms of exploitation – in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 8.