Quantum dynamical modeling of competition and cooperation between political parties: The coalition and non-coalition equilibrium model

• The formalism of quantum physics is used to devise a dynamical model of party coalition formation.
• Quantum entanglement is introduced to account for the close interrelation of parties’ decisions.
• Numerical simulations and graphical representations of results are presented.

We propose a model of parties’ dynamical decision-making related to becoming a member of a coalition or pursuing a competitive strategy. Our approach is based on the mathematical formalism of quantum information theory. The devised model has no direct relation to quantum physics, only its mathematical apparatus and methodology are applied, in particular the quantum probability and the theory of open quantum systems. The latter describes the most general form of adaptive dynamics of a system interacting with an environment. In our model the environment is composed of the electorate, or more specifically the informational bath generated by the parties’ electorate, which is a key part of the socio-economic context surrounding the political party as a decision-making entity. The key feature of the quantum model is the ability to capture the strong interrelation of the parties’ decision making states, through the notion of entanglement. The preferences of different parties evolve simultaneously and non-separably in the joint information space. We model the approaching of the state of political equilibrium by using the Markov approximation of the quantum master equation. Illustrative examples of numerical simulations are presented to specify, how the model works operationally.