“Networks of Power”: A Simulation to Teach About Durable Inequality

Abstract

This article introduces a class simulation on inequality entitled “Networks of Power.” Its usage and effectiveness are analyzed in light of four critical factors: activity complexity, teaching model, learning outcomes, and potential risks. Simulation mechanics are discussed in some detail and complemented with critical reflections on student learning, based on faculty observations, surveys, essays, and related assessments. The concluding analysis centers on lessons learned in administering the simulation in a professionally-focused context and likely benefits and challenges of application in other class settings.

Keywords:

• Active learning
• critical thinking
• graduate education
• simulations
• inequality

Disclosure statement

The opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Inter-American Defense College, the Inter-American Defense Board, the Organization of American States, or the country and sponsoring organization of the author (U.S. Department of Defense).

Notes

Notes

1 This article contextualizes the “Networks of Power” simulation presented and debriefed in a teaching café for the American Political Science Association (APSA) convention in September 2016.

2 The Inter-American Defense College (IADC) is a multinational, multilingual graduate program based in Washington, DC that teaches defense and security cooperation and related academic themes to senior government officials from Organization of American States (OAS) member nations. Each student cohort, comprised of 50–70 senior officials, represents up to 15 countries, and for many years, IADC alumni have achieved roles of national and regional prominence. This includes an alumni roster of three Presidents, approximately 50 Ministers and Executive Appointees, and 750+ General officers. In the last decade, the College has focused on improving academic programming and achieving graduate accreditation, investing in a permanent and multilingual faculty, among other innovations.

3 Relevant themes are addressed in Organization of American States (2003) and framed in Hamilton (2016a, 2016b).

4 These other simulations are worth a careful review for alternative classroom environments, especially if the focus is on academic content over process. Additionally, the author previously adapted Jane Elliott’s controversial “Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes” experiment (Frontline 1985), using nonphysical attributes in class lessons focused on class/race issues with middle schoolers. Even with further adaptation, though, it was determined to be inappropriate and potentially volatile for a senior professional student body.

5 Dominican-Haitian tensions are perhaps most obvious, given a controversial law in the Dominican Republic curtailing Haitian migration and perceived threats to Dominicans with the recent development of a new Ministry of Defense in Haiti. See also a historical backdrop of identity tensions in Hamilton (2011).

6 Challenges of an international and professionally-focused graduate program likely differ from schools that target undergraduates and nonelites. For such cohorts, Carreiro and Kapitulik (2010, 232) worry simulations that too closely resemble life experiences are “ineffective, alienating, and potentially ethically suspect.”

7 In the words of Ansoms and Geenen (2012, 673), “The game allows participants to assess critically the ways in which different social classes (also those at the lower end of the societal scale) exercise ‘agency’ in the construction of their networks, although this agency may be constrained in various ways.”

8 The vast length of elite actors’ strings (5 yards) often makes it difficult to keep track of assets. As a real-life corollary, actors from lower social strata often “squat” or harvest illegally from unmonitored elite lands.

9 The strings, if disconnected properly (untied or cut only slightly), should be able to be reused in future simulations.

10 As a general rule, it is important to limit the number of elite actors (red-yellow and orange strings) and prioritize a relatively large number of marginal actors (blue and white).

11 Adapting Greenblat (1973), benefits of active learning activities include two content-oriented factors: cognitive learning and longer-term learning, while process-oriented factors include affective learning, student motivation, self-awareness, and faculty-student relations.

12 The author has followed research ethics standards of IADC as well as APSA guidance for human subject research as relates to survey and project-level information.

13 Common citations across coursework include Acemoglu (2003), Calderón (2012), Costa (2012), Hamilton (2015), and Sorj and Martucelli (2008).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mark D. Hamilton

Mark Hamilton serves on the permanent graduate faculty of the the Inter-American Defense College and as an adjunct professorial lecturer for American University’s School of International Service, both in Washington, DC. He has taught courses/seminars at varied academic institutions (tertiary and secondary) and facilitated workshops for midlevel and senior professionals in the Americas, Middle East, Europe, and South Asia. He is a lifelong, third-generation educator and has consulted for intergovernmental, nonprofit, and academic institutions on diverse themes—including curriculum design, program evaluation, youth engagement, cyber security, and security sector reform. He publishes actively and has presented his research at many national and global conferences, including a keynote address for a UNESCO planning forum in Paris and several briefings and collaborative engagements with the Organization of American States. Dr. Hamilton received his MA in International Development and PhD in International Relations at American University. He is an active member of the American Political Science Association, International Studies Association, and Latin American Studies Association, among other organizations, and serves on advisory boards for several education and youth-focused foundations and nonprofits.