Teaching Critical Understandings of Realism through Historical War Simulations
Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
4-1-2018
Abstract
This article presents a simple modular simulation for teaching the advantages and limitations of Realist theory in an introductory international relations course. The advantages of this simulation include low preparation time, minimal resource requirements, and ease of integration with existing curricula. The game design is built around Kenneth Waltz's three-image framework for analyzing international politics, in a way that increases scenario complexity but not game difficulty. The article describes the full simulation process, from game design and implementation through debriefing and assessment. Two historical simulations were conducted: the first helped students to understand Realism and the second helped them to see its limitations. The article concludes with a discussion of the results of a voluntary, anonymous postgame survey that is intended to assess achievement of our learning objective.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
PS - Political Science and Politics
Volume
51
Issue
2
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Mendenhall, Elizabeth, and Tarek Tutunji. "Teaching Critical Understandings of Realism through Historical War Simulations." PS - Political Science and Politics 51, 2 (2018). doi: 10.1017/S1049096517002311.