Recent evolutionary biology has long since given up the concept of a pure struggle for existence. Recent findings rather show that successful individuals end to be altruistic by nature. Nevertheless, cooperation between individuals is always of fragile nature. In their recent paper entitled "What makes cooperation precarious?", Christoph Engel and Bettina Rockenbach delve into the intricate dynamics of cooperation.

Both authors bring extensive expertise to the table, with Prof. Dr. Rockenbach holding the WiSo-chair of Experimental and Behavioral Economics and Principal Investigator in the Cluster of Excellence ECONtribute: Markets & Public Policy and Member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, focusing on social norm compliance, common pool resource management, and social responsibility.

The study addresses the question of why cooperation often fails, and why contributions in public goods games decrease, while cooperation tends to decline. Engel and Rockenbach's reanalysis offers a nuanced explanation, showing that conditional cooperators are nearly perfect when others cooperate, but react strongly to negative experiences caused by selfish individuals. These encounters drive the imperfection in conditional cooperation and the subsequent decline in contributions. The study thus shows that while conditional cooperators show minimal gaps between beliefs and contributions, they tend to overreact to negative experiences, contributing to the overall fragility of cooperation dynamics. 

In sum, Engel and Rockenbach's research provides valuable insights into the complexities of cooperation and offers a deeper understanding of the behavioural dynamics that influence individuals' contributions to public goods. By highlighting the crucial role of individuals' willingness to provide public goods, the authors emphasise the importance of cooperation in tackling global challenges such as climate change.