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Free international relations simulations

Same world.Different stakes.

Your neighbor says it’s arming for defense. What would convince you? Step into a political dilemma, follow the evidence, and see what changes.

Browse all 9 simulations

Begin with a puzzle.

Choose a question to see related simulations.

Browse all simulations Help me choose a starting point
Two different routes are marked on torn nautical charts over an archival-style photograph of a ferry and working harbor.
One shipping lane. Two readings of what it means.

Inside Trouble in Common

A short captioned look at how to find a case, make a forecast and keep your work.

28-second tour · After You is a fictional climate negotiation case.

Read the tour instead
  1. Choose an international relations puzzle.
  2. In After You, Vela raises its emissions target from 25% to 40%. What will Luma do?
  3. Make a forecast. Then inspect a dated record.
  4. Luma’s domestic coalition backed a 30% target with worker support before Vela’s announcement.
  5. Back up progress to return later. Submit your finished report through your course system.
Try the text example Open video on its own ↗ (opens in a new tab)
How to play, save, and submit
All 9 simulations

What do you want to understand?

Help me choose
Why can a defensive move look threatening?What makes governments move together?Can ideas change what governments do?Can one agreement have several explanations?Will a stronger climate promise travel?Can a public condemnation change behavior?How would you test your explanation?

For instructors

Bring a case into class.

Find an activity by class time and learning goal. Open its teaching guide, copy an assignment, and use the students’ reasoning records in the debrief.

Plan a class Compare activities

Frontiers

Work with published research, dated records, and competing explanations.

Explore research cases

World Regions Lab

Find the places behind the case. Explore in English, Spanish, or German.

Get your bearings

Possible States

Change a rule and see what follows in the companion comparative politics collection.

Open Possible States

Created by Yoav Duman, political scientist and educator. About Trouble in Common