Relative gain, in international relations, is the actions of states only in respect to power balances and without regard to other factors, such as economics.
In international relations, cooperation may be necessary to balance power, but concerns about relative gains will limit that cooperation due to the low quality of information about other states' behavior and interests.
[1] Such relative-gains concerns, however, may sometimes be mitigated by individual social preferences.
[3] It differs from absolute gain, which is the total effect of a decision on the state or organization, regardless of gains made by others.
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