The Statecraft Simulation and Foreign Policy Attitudes Among Undergraduate Students

Professors of international relations are increasingly realizing that simulations can be a fun and effective way of teaching the complexities of the field to their students. One popular simulation that has emerged in recent years-the Statecraft simulation-is now used by more than 190 colleges and universities worldwide. Despite Statecraft's popularity, however, little scholarship has attempted to assess its impact on learning objectives and students' perceptions of the real world. This article attempts to help fill that void by evaluating Statecraft's influence on foreign policy attitudes among undergraduate students. It finds that, while participation in Statecraft did not generally change students' foreign policy preferences, it did have the effect of inducing foreign policy moderation among students who were initially very hawkish or dovish in their foreign policy orientations. The most important individual characteristics predicting foreign policy attitudes include a student's political orientation and interest in the Statecraft simulation itself. The article concludes with some potential avenues for future research.