the modern theory of threats in bargaining situations is presented in a unified and systematic treatment that puts the existing literature in a new perspective. harold houba and wilko bolt provide a masterful synthesis of the fundamental results obtained in the rapidly expanding game-theoretic literature. the relative impacts of the fundamental forces on the bargaining outcome are discussed and related to the visions expressed by nobel-laureate john nash. many topics -such as robustness of the results with respect to the diversity of known bargaining procedures, the role of commitment and policy bargaining situations- receive their most extensive treatment to date. credible threats in negotiations is suitable as a textbook for graduate students in economic theory and other social sciences and a necessity as a resource for scholars interested in bargaining situations.