A team of ten IWP students recently participated in an International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the U.S. Army War College. During this two-day exercise, participants were placed in a realistic situation where they acted as members of a team called upon to negotiate an advantageous solution to a frozen conflict.
The exercise took place on April 4-5, and seven teams from around the Washington, D.C. area simulated peace talks between Sudan, South Sudan, and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N). The IWP team acted as the SPLM-N, which had recently said that it was not trying to pursue regime change in Sudan. As such, the IWP group pursued an end to hostilities from the government, humanitarian aid, and its own semi-autonomous region.
Other participants in the exercise included the countries of the United States, the People’s Republic of China, Ethiopia, and Uganda. Participants also played the part of the United Nations and the African Union. The former US Ambassador for Sudan, Ambassador Princeton Lyman, oversaw the exercise and advised students throughout their negotiations.
“Our IWP team did a superb job this weekend at CSIS,” commented IWP US Army War College Fellow Chaplain (LTC) John Kallerson, who served as the USAWC mentor and advisor for the team. “Watching the team in action was fun, and our students displayed academic expertise and skills that IWP can be proud to have encouraged. The IWP group put a tremendous amount of preparation into the exercise that was displayed throughout the weekend. They all worked very well as a team and have absorbed many of the academic and practical skills that IWP teaches in all the courses offered at the Institute.”
Team IWP was commended for their efforts by some of the leaders of the program.
Ann-Elise Quinn, the student who led Team IWP, said. “This experience was a lot of work and a lot of fun, and I hope that we can put together similar exercises in the future.”
