【Report】Summary of the seminar delivered by Tomonori Yoshizaki

23 November 2023

Title: Strategic Communications Gaming over Ukraine and Taiwan

In the seminar, Professor Yoshizaki delivered a short lecture on the notion and purposes of strategic communication in international relations. This was followed by a simulation game based on a mix of real and fictional scenarios.

Professor Yoshizaki first explained the potential benefits of conducting strategic communication simulations for policymaking and research. It allows experts to imagine and enact potential reactions to real-life scenarios and consider the possible ramifications and outcomes of those decisions. For the researcher, simulations are a way to test theories against real-world conditions in a relatively safe setting.

He then explained the background of the simulation game, namely the main actors and their alignments, their strategic objectives, along with the available options for players to take. After the explanation, students were actively involved in conducting the simulation, which takes into account realistic events during the ongoing Russo-Ukraine War, while adding several fictional scenarios. The simulation progressed for around one hour. Students role-played as five different state leaders, each arguing for their position and proposing options which were immediately responded by other players.

In the final part of the seminar, Professor Yoshizaki summarised the outcomes of the simulation and again reiterated the usefulness of simulations for the study of International Relations.