The International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE) is a real-world simulation offered by the U.S. Army War College at top graduate schools across the nation. This year’s ISCNE is set against the backdrop of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit. The meeting has been called to negotiate an end to the conflict in the South China Sea.

Participants role-play ASEAN members invited to the summit. The diplomatic teams are charged by their governments with negotiating a solution advantageous to their national interests. Each team is coached and assisted by a high-level mentor – a member of the UW faculty or an invited regional subject matter expert drawn from the business, government, or military sectors. In advance of the 2-day exercise, students receive background briefings on the South China Sea conflict, crisis leadership and decision-making, and negotiation.