Property Rights on a Cold War battlefield: managing broadcasting transmissions through the Iron Curtain

Abstract

This paper analyses the international regime governing the use of broadcasting frequencies in the long and medium wave bands in Europe from 1950 until 1970. It tries to fathom what prevented the regime from collapsing, even though Cold War political tensions increased incentives to break international rules. The overall intention is to contribute to a better understanding of management institutions for open access resources. Special attention is paid to the property rights that were established, the particular rules for the enforcement of these property rights and the motivations of the different agents involved.

Keywords

• broadcasting
• cold war
• property rights
• common-pool resources