In This Story
Disaster averted! Representatives from the U.S., China, and Japan met on March 26 in an attempt to de-escalate the intensifying crisis in the East China Sea. Failure to come to a mutually accepted agreement could have led to deadly conflict involving militaries, endangering millions of civilians.
Didn’t hear about this crisis on the news? That’s because, thankfully, it was a simulation. More than two dozen undergraduate and graduate students at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government participated as diplomats, policymakers, and military leaders during a realistic exercise led by national security experts.
The real-time, seven-hour event presented high-pressure situations for immediate decision-making to avert drastic outcomes. Happily, participants were able to avoid escalating the crisis through diplomatic negotiations and deft military maneuvers.
The simulation, hosted by the Center for Security Policy Studies (CSPS) and led by PhD candidate Lee Roberts, a U.S. Army Strategic Intelligence Officer and former CSPS fellow, was the first in-person crisis simulation in more than two years. Additional simulations are planned for the near future.