Is an Abstract Game or a Role-Play Simulation Better to Explore Anarchy, Cooperation, and Conflict in World Politics?

13 Pages Posted: 2 Feb 2012 Last revised: 14 Feb 2012

Abstract

Since 2007 I have utilized Joseph K. Young’s two-level Prisoner’s Dilemma (PD) game in my introductory world politics courses. The one negative comment that has repeated itself during the past four years is that the game is too abstract, that students would prefer to negotiate over something concrete. This led me to construct a study exploring whether a role-play simulation would be better than an abstract game, in helping students to achieve the learning objectives. My expectation is that a game is better than a simulation in helping students to better understand the concepts of anarchy, international conflict, and international cooperation.

Keywords: game, simulation, anarchy, cooperation, conflict

Suggested Citation

McCarthy, Mary, Is an Abstract Game or a Role-Play Simulation Better to Explore Anarchy, Cooperation, and Conflict in World Politics?. APSA 2012 Teaching & Learning Conference Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1997598

Mary McCarthy (Contact Author)

Drake University ( email )

2507 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50311
United States

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