The Isle of Ted Simulation: Teaching Collective Action in International Relations and Organization

G. Dale Thomas, Department of Government
University of West Florida

Introduction

The Isle of Ted simulation is a teaching tool that is disarmingly simple yet repeatedly captivates participants. Although the simulation was originally designed as a tool for explaining collective action problems in American politics, almost all recent uses of the simulation have been in international relations and international organization classes. The simulation is an effective teaching tool for a wide variety of issues including:

• collective goods and free riders (for example, Olson 1971)
  
• international organization versus international organization and global governance versus global government (for example, Rosenau and Czempiel 1992)
• regimes and the effects of transparency (for example, Keohane 1982, 1984; Krasner 1982; Mitchell 1994; Young 1989, 1994)
  
• relative and absolute gains (for example, Grieco 1988)
  
• constructivist approaches to international relations (for example, Wendt 1992)
  
• rational choice models of decision making (for example, Bueno de Mesquita 2000; Monroe 1991; Lave and March 1993)
• how the shadow of the future can engender cooperation in the present (for example, Axelrod 1984; Hardin 1982; Shubik 1970)

Student Handouts

The Isle of Ted Simulation Sheet
Blank turn sheet
Map of Isle of Ted

Instructor's Materials

Turn Sheet for Team Alpha
Standard Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions for Rational Decision Making