<i>Risk</i> and Realism: Using a Board Game Mobile App to Illustrate an International Relations Theory

ABSTRACT When introducing students to broad theoretical frameworks, simulations and games can help to make theoretical concepts clearer. One example is the use of the mobile app for the board game Risk to illustrate many of the concepts associated with realism. The mobile app has advantages over the physical board game in that the length of the games often is much shorter and allows students to experiment with the number of opponents to determine how that changes the dynamics of the game. Survey results from students in an introduction to international relations course who played Risk in proximity to lessons on realism report that playing iterations of the game clarified realist topics including the balance of power, the security dilemma, and the temporary nature of alliances.