UACES Annual Conference in Lille

The academics and students at the Annual Conference of European Studies association UACES

Our next phase took us to the UACES Annual conference in the picturesque city of Lille in northeast France. UACES is one of the most distinguished academic associations in the European Studies field. Crucially, UACES members and friends are predominantly highly renowned Brexit experts affiliating mostly with UK universities. Their enthusiastic feedback was an encouraging indication of the game’s promise.

We held two game sessions: the first for the conference attendees and the second for the political science students of the University of Lille. At the academics game, there were friendly handshakes and diplomatic smiles, but all froze when the UK delegation defended its sovereignty by casually mentioning that the UK possessed nukes! In this simulation, the players experienced the constraints of time pressure, but eventually, they agreed to the Withdrawal Agreement to the satisfaction of both sides. Unfortunately, the second game ended in no deal! Even though it looked like the leaders would agree, in the end, individual interest prevailed over a collective agreement. Nevertheless, the players demonstrated passion, used multiple strategic manoeuvres, and applied their rhetoric skills at a world-class level.