Katherine Izsak - Terrorism and International Negotiations in Kurdistan

Katherine Izsak, Education Director, START, University of Maryland
Tim Wedig, Former Simulation Developer, International Conflict and Negotiation (ICONS) Project, University of Maryland
"Terrorism and International Negotiations in Kurdistan"

The simulation places students into third-party negotiator roles during an escalating crisis between a foreign military and a designated terrorist group, with potentially hundreds of thousands of civilians caught between the two sides. The scenario begins with a series of attacks by the terrorist group, the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), along the border between Turkey and northern Iraq. The strikes are followed by a series of violent counter strikes by Turkish troops near the city of Zakhu, within the borders of Iraq. Students play the roles of: the U.S. Army; the Kurdistan Democratic Party; a fictional civic organization, the Zakhu Chamber of Commerce; a fictional cultural organization, the Zakhu Council of Elders; and a fictional non-governmental organization, Jobs and Bread. Students are then presented with a series of actions they may take in response to the hostilities, as well as new events throughout the simulation. Student groups negotiate with one another to meet their respective needs while operating outside of the two primary actors, the PKK and the government of Turkey.

The simulation was developed in cooperation with the ICONS project at the University of Maryland, College Park.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this lesson, students will be able to:

• Understand the complexities of negotiating between different types of actors (i.e. international, national, and community groups) during a violent crisis;
• Understand the complexities of acting as an observer to conflict;
• Develop skills to gather information and assess conflict situations in an uncertain environment; and
• Develop skills to participate in inter- and intra-team discussions in a changing environment.

Intended Audience

This curriculum unit has been developed with the following audiences in mind:

• Students at the secondary school, undergraduate, graduate, and executive education levels.

Please note: The simulation has been designed to function at multiple levels of education without adaptation; the participants' responses to prompts will vary according to their levels of preparation and training.

Table of Contents

Facilitator Guide

Crisis Scenario and Background

Role Sheets

Jobs and Bread

Kurdistan Democratic Party

U.S. Army

Zakhu Chamber of Commerce

Zakhu Council of Elders

Events

Core Events

Refugee Announcement

PKK Statement

PKK Bombing Announcement

Border Crossing Announcement

Ethnic Cleansing Announcement

Supplemental Events

Firefight Announcement

Government of Turkey Statement

Cholera Outbreak Announcement

Supplemental Action for Kurdistan Democratic Party

Additional Materials

Simulation Preparation PowerPoint Presentation

Exercise Debriefing Guide

Kurdistan Name Tags

Local Map

Pre-Simulation Report

Post-Simulation Report

Post-Simulation Survey

Reflections Form

Materials for this unit can be requested by emailing education@start.umd.edu.

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