Examples of simulations

Examples of Simulations Developed and Run by TRACK4

TRACK4 simulations have been used by various organizations and groups that aim to gain an insight into a particular conflict, experience the dynamics of a negotiation or develop negotiation and mediation skills.

Below are some examples of simulations we have developed and run in recent years.

Governments/Diplomats

Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and Mediation Support Project (Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich and Swisspeace)

January 2010: In collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Mediation Support project, we designed and co-organized the mediation retreat for Swiss diplomats, mediators and alumni of the “Peace Mediation Course”. This two-day simulation, co-run by Simon Mason (Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich) centred on the impasse in Israeli-Palestinian talks as it stood at the time.

Universities

King’s College, London, Department of War Studies: Programme for Middle East Dialogue

February-March 2018: “The Camp Donald Talks” were held as President Trump and his team claimed the release of their proposal for the Palestine/Israel conflict was imminent.

The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Executive Master in International Negotiation and Policy-Making

May, 2011: The Villa Barton Talks: a two-day simulation on Israel/Palestine in the wake of President Obama's May 19th Middle East Speech.

April, 2010: two day simulation entitled “Breaking the Impasse: Creating the Obama Parameters”. In partnership with Simon J A Mason, Mediation Support Project, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich

Graduate Program in International Affairs, New School University, New York

Two-Month Simulations:

• Spring 2005: a secret/backchannel final status negotiation between Israelis and Palestinians

• Spring 2006: A debate between UN Security Council members and Burmese groups on how to approach the conflict in Myanmar

• Spring 2007: A regional peace conference intended to operationalize the Arab Initiative and launch a ‘regional’ peace conference that would address all the issues in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

One-Month Simulations:

• Autumn 2005: a conference about mechanisms of post-genocide justice in Rwanda with emphasis on the ‘gacaca’ process

• Spring 2006: a scenario about human rights and female circumcision

• Autumn 2007: a Truth and Reconciliation Commission dealing with issues related to Native Americans in the USA, centering on the case of Leonard Peltier.

Policy Centers, NGOs and Think Tanks

King's College, London. "Through the Looking Glass" project

February 2017: The "King's Consult" talks were held three weeks after Trump's inauguration, and days after his statements on the relevance of a "regional" aporoach to the Israel/Palestine conflict. Participants attempted to work through what such a regional framework would look like, given the current stalemate, and domestic/political challenges faced by all parties.

Conciliation Resources

July 2011: The Gisla Hill Talks: anticipating the Palestinian Declaration for Statehood and the U.S. administration's attempt to work out a framework for peace negotiations.

Geneva Center for Security Policy

Spring, 2008: a two-day simulation of a Hamas-Israel cease-fire negotiation. In partnership with Simon J A Mason, Mediation Support Project, Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich

Independently Run Simulation

March, 2012 and November 2012: 'The Amersham Talks' and 'The Struggle for Palestine'. Two simulations - one 'real time' and another historical - run with young professionals in London.

April, 2011: The Lyric–1 Talks. A two day simulation with a variety of participants from the world of diplomacy, business, UK-based NGOs, academia and journalism. 

Consultant Services

The American University of Kuwait in conjunction with the American Embassy of Kuwait

Spring 2009: a semester long simulation run by Professor Rawda Awwad: ‘Rhetorics of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism: Moot Trial’.

Académie de droit international humanitaire et de droits humains à Genève, Centre Universitaire de Droit International Humanitaire (CUDIH)

Spring 2008: a two-day simulation on the first meeting of the Human Rights Council

Historical Simulations

As a part of Barnard College’s Reacting to the Past program, and with the support of the Ford Foundation “Difficult Dialogues” grant, Natasha Gill developed and co-wrote (with Neil Caplan) a Reacting to the Past historical simulation game entitled The Struggle for Palestine in the 1930s.

The Struggle for Palestine game was created to offer participants insight into the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict during the period of the British Mandate in Palestine, and especially in the 1930s.

In the game students are able to enter the world of life in Palestine before 1948, when so much of the conflict was determined, and learn about the positions of the Zionists, the Palestinian Arabs and the British at the time.

The game is based around the work of the Palestine Royal Commission (also known as the Peel Commission), which arrived in Jerusalem in 1936 to try and determine the causes of conflict and make recommendations for the future. The game gives students the opportunity to bypass the traditional debating style, to hear how the parties themselves interpreted the conflict, and to immerse themselves in the details of life on the ground.

For more information about this game, you can view a short video at http://barnard.edu/reacting/about/initiatives_dd.html or read an article written about the course, “Can Reacting to the Past help Students Learn about the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict?” at http://www.hnn.us/articles/127624.html. For more information about Reacting to the Past, see www.barnard.edu/reacting. You can also contact us by email.