Gaming the Political Economy of Conflict: Simulation Game
and Guidebook Design
This project examined how economic factors shape violent crises and explored the use of simulation games as a tool to anticipate the impacts of external interventions. I helped the research team to design and produce a tabletop exercise, which was played over three iterations and addressed the political economy of conflict in the eastern DRC, focusing on the impact of external funding for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts (DDR). A group of policy practitioners participated throughout all workshops, culminating in a final one-and-a-half-day workshop.
Learn more about the project here.
Below is a sanitized excerpt of the map used in the final workshop.
The final output of the project is a practical toolbox that guides the design of simulation games for analyzing political economy interventions in stabilization contexts, drawing on lessons from a case study in eastern DRC. I was responsible for the editorial design of the guidebook, in both its digital and print formats.
See the full guidebook here.
At the project’s conclusion, I collaborated with the team to produce an explainer video. It highlights the motivations behind exploring serious gaming methodologies, the process of conceptualizing and running the DRC game (including workshop footage), and the team’s outlook on next steps.