Both sides prefer conceding to mutual disaster, so the advantage goes to whoever can credibly refuse to concede.
Maynard Smith and Price's 1973 model. In the Cuban Missile Crisis both sides understood that whoever could appear less able to back down held the advantage — which is why visibly limiting your own options can be a move.
In practice
- Two departments both refuse to move their deadline, each believing the other will blink, and the release slips for everyone.
- Two cars meet on a single-track lane and the one who has visibly folded their mirror in has already won the negotiation.