Simulation Sharing

The following are select simulations that I have developed, particularly for my course “Great Thinkers and Pivotal Leaders.” They touch on a range of practical topics, including: trade negotiations; a global public health crisis; military confrontation; self-determination and human rights; and crafting grand strategy. They should work quite well for students in any number of courses in politics, international relations, diplomacy, etc.

Why am I sharing these materials?

I make these available here for the reference of prospective students and fellow teachers. Teachers who would like to use or borrow from these simulations are warmly invited to do so. I hope it will advance a diverse engagement with these questions that I find so important and challenging.

Also, I rely heavily on Free and open-source software ([FOSS])(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software). Indeed, I use it as much as possible; and I strongly encourage you to do the same. In part, this is my way of contributing back to the community, albeit using my comparative advantage.

What can you do?

First, if you do use these materials, please contribute “upstream”–meaning, offer feedback and suggestions of your own.

Second, perhaps the best thing you can do is to contribute your own materials and ideas to our community.

Last, it would mean a lot to me if you were to read and engage my research. I prioritise quality over quantity, and I do my utmost to write things that are meant to be read. Indeed, I would much prefer to write a few things that many people read and consider than to publish a lot of things that nobody reads or seriously considers. I would benefit very much from having your thoughts on my scholarhsip; and I would love to see you grapple with it in your own work.

What are the restrictions?

These materials are all licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is unfortunate that I have to resort to doing this; but it seems to be required by our (broken) intellectual property rights regime. Given my experience with intellectual property trolls and disreputable profit-seeking firms that reproduce such things (sometimes without attribution!), I dare not share without at least this element of (defensive) pragmatism.

Select Simulations

Each simulation is designed to last 90 minutes; but using more time would be even better. Students would benefit from some preparation; but these simulations were designed to build upon accompanying course lectures, readings, and discussions.

Simulation 1: Haggling over the Terms of Trade Link

Simulation 2: Stand-off! Diplomacy in Fraught Times Link

Simulation 3: Declaring Rights in a Diverse World Link

Simulation 4: Grand Strategy: The Challenges and Opportunities with China’s Rise Link