Though both candidates in an election may prefer to run positive campaigns,each candidate has incentives to "go negative" regardless of the type of campaign run by his opponent.This set of considerations creates a/an ____________________ for candidates when deciding what type of campaign to operate.

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The scenario described above is a classic example of a Prisoner's Dilemma. Each candidate has a dominant strategy to go negative, regardless of what their opponent does. If one candidate goes negative and the other doesn't, the negative campaigner gains an advantage. If both candidates go negative, they both suffer in the eyes of the voters. Therefore, the rational choice for each candidate is to go negative, even if they both would be better off running positive campaigns.

Though Both Candidates in an Election May Prefer to Run