The International Crisis War Game will be hosted by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University on March 5th, 2020. The event will also feature comments from LTG (Ret.) H.R. McMaster.

Please note that this event is by invitation only. If you are interested in attending, please contact Jacquelyn Schneider.


ABOUT THE GAME

The war game explores the relationship between new technologies, domestic politics, conventional military capabilities, and nuclear threats. Players simulate decision-making roles in a National Security cabinet and come to the war game as leaders in private industry, government, academia, and the military. The aim is to better understand the role that emerging technologies play in crisis decision-making and how Cold War paradigms of deterrence and crisis escalation apply in a world with new capabilities and vulnerabilities.

As a senior leader, your participation is vital to the success of this war game and, ultimately, to the success of efforts to create policies, capabilities, and legislation that ensures international stability and economic prosperity. The International Crisis War Game at the Hoover Institution is a half-day event, but it is a part of a larger set of games being run all over the world that compare behaviors across countries and cultures within crises.

As a player, you will be given two hypothetical crisis scenarios and a briefing on capabilities and threats. Together, players will form a team representing a National Security cabinet that generates priority objectives and debates courses of action. The war game will culminate in the development of a whole of government response plan to the crisis. Finally, the event concludes with a plenary session in which players will share lessons learned from the war game and suggest potential recommendations for policies on emerging threats and crisis dynamics as well as a short wine and cheese reception.

Please note that as an attendee at this event, you will be a participant in a Stanford research protocol.


AGENDA

Registration: 12:30-1:00
Opening Comments: 1:00-1:20
Scenario 1 Play: 1:20-3:05
Break: 3:05-3:20
Scenario 2 Play: 3:20-4:40
Break: 4:20-4:35
Final Plenary: 4:35-5:15
Reception: 5:15-6:15

Upcoming Events

Monday, December 1, 2025
shultz_cabinet_chair
George P. Shultz Memorial Lecture Series: Shultz And Economic Policy
The Hoover Institution invites you to virtually attend the George P. Shultz Memorial Lecture Series: Shultz and Economic Policy on Monday, December…
Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Education
Reclaiming Liberal Education In America
The Center for Revitalizing American Institutions (RAI) hosts Reclaiming Liberal Education in America with Peter Berkowitz and Brandice Canes-Wrone… Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Comparative Civics: Beyond Western Civ
The Alliance for Civics in the Academy hosts "Comparative Civics: Beyond Western Civ" with Dongxian Jiang, Shadi Bartsch, Simon Sihang Luo, and Peter… Hoover Institution, Stanford University
overlay image