This research examines the impact of the relationship on tactical action (i.e., damage and concession tactics) in conflict. It tests a theory of bilateral deterrence and determines whether theoretical principles designed for punitive extend to dependence. The theoretical principles are that unequal will produce more use of (i.e., damage tactics) than equal pozwer, and also that the amount of across actors in a relationship will be negatively related to use. These hypotheses are tested in a laboratory setting that separates dependence from punitive pozer, enables actors to make offers and counteroffers across a series of rounds (i.e., engage in explicit negotiation), and contains the option to engage in damaging and threatening action. The results support the theory of bilateral deterrence with regard to punitive power, offer partial support to extension of the theory to dependence, and demonstrate that the distinction between punitive and dependence forms of pozwer is important. This paper deals with the impact of on tactical action in conflict. The theory and research is organized around two conceptual distinctions: one between based on dependence versus punitive capability, and the other between relative (i.e., difference) and total power in a relationship (i.e., across actors). The paper will argue that these distinctions are important on both theoretical and empirical grounds. Theoretically, they are important to explicate the connection between conceptions of that stress the coercive foundation of (Bierstedt 1950; Tedeschi, Schlenker & Bonoma 1973) and those that treat as dependence (Bacharach & Lawler 1981; Cook & Emerson 1984; Cook et al. 1981; *This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation, and the order of authorship does not reflect differential contributions to this paper. This paper was presented at the 1986 meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society. Address correspondence to Edward J. Lawler, Sociology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. ? 1987 The University of North Carolina Press