kernodle blog 5
William Kernodle
Professor Shirk
Pols 170
04 May 2022
Risk
While it may not be a perfect model of what international politics really looks like, risk was a great exercise to think about how the concertos we've studied this year can really come into play. Of course our game had absolutely no implications, but we were able to compete against other groups and try to complete the tasks we were assigned using the secret powers to our advantage. I was a member of the Ukrainian national group. Our goal was to control Ukraine and its surrounding territories. Our special ability was jungle warfare which we used to defend once we were attacked and overtaken. We got to experience the art of making deals and truces with other groups which gave us a good idea of how nations work together to protect each other and their common interests. There was a strong theme of “you scratch my back and i'll scratch yours” burning this game. We also were able to better understand the concept of security as we found ourselves at war with nations who had similar interests. We came to realize what security looks and feels like and how to protect ourselves with alliances and using our unique abilities. Playing Risk was an excellent practical application of all the concepts we’ve studied this year and it gave me an excellent idea of how these things are applicable in the real world. It was a lot of fun to put out knowledge to the test adn a great way to end the semester.
Overall nice job on this blog post. After reading your blog, my suggestion would be to look more intensely at your claim in the first sentence that Risk was "not a perfect model". While I agree that Risk cannot fully represent the entire nature of international politics, there are some things that it can represent. I did, however, like that you discussed the concept of security in some detail. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThis was super cool and I really enjoyed it. I thought your perspective on risk was super interesting and detailed. I also appreciate how you acknowledged the imperfection of it all. Great job this was super impressive!
DeleteNice analysis of Diplomatic Risk. I definitely agree there was a lot of deal making and "scratching peoples backs" to get what each team wanted. I also agree that the game was a great way to physically look at how secure each team was. I definitely agree playing this was a great way to use the knowledge we learned from the course and apply it to what happened during the game. Good job!
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