Playing “against and with”: learning IR theories by gaming the prisoner’s dilemma

The chapter constructs a game to teach international relations (IR) theories based on an adapted version of the prisoner’s dilemma. Classes are divided into small teams playing in pairs ‘against and with’ one another. The instructor probes teams to decide whether to cooperate or not, introducing variants in the roles, identities and structural conditions of the prisoners. After a brief consultation, the teams declare their decision simultaneously at the count of three. By reasoning on the outcomes and the assumptions underpinning their decisions, students explore the core tenants of different IR theories in an engaging way.