ALLIES hosted the 2019 Field Exercise for Peacekeeping and Stability Operations (FieldEx) on April 5th-6th in North Kingstown, RI. FieldEx is an annual kinetic simulation organized by undergraduate students, with support from the IGL. The scenario for this year’s edition featured a secularizing monarchy of the House of Kulak, alongside its government, struggling against hardline religious rebels known as the Matthians for control over the state – the Kahanate of Halider. The event saw students from across the spectrum of academic disciplines involved in this dynamic crisis exercise, to navigate political and armed conflicts not just between factions, but also within factions. Each faction also had to contend with resource distribution to participate in the economy, and grapple with escalation mechanics and tactical operations for attaining territorial control on a paintball field. This was all happening amidst a substantial civilian population with their own agency and ambitions.
Over the course of the simulation, multiple curveball developments occurred: the government was almost wiped out by the Matthians, a splintering happened within the Matthians, defections significantly altered the balance of power, and civilians found power in lending their weight to different leaders. Aided by several helpful graduate advisors from Fletcher, FieldEx participants were advised on security operations, tactical maneuvers, conflict negotiation, and more. For 24 hours, students successfully (and gracefully) took on personas motivated by values that the students themselves may or may not have related to. They forged new relationships, negotiated terms, and ultimately cleared their own paths in this learning experience.
FieldEx is valuable as a learning tool for International Relations and Political Science, because it provides a rare opportunity for students to test out theoretical frameworks and observe the realistic dynamics as they play out between armed and unarmed groups within a contained environment. Additionally, it provides an avenue for participants to practice their decision making and diplomatic skills in close-to-real world situations, which is more effective for nurturing future leaders than a paper or tabletop simulation. Hopefully, with continued support from the IGL and ALLIES, the tradition of FieldEx will continue to educate Tufts students and challenge our conceptions of successful methods of peacekeeping.
