The Model Arctic Council: Simulated Negotiations as Pedagogy and Embodied Diplomacy

ABSTRACTThis article draws on the perspectives of students and organizers involved in recent iterations of the Model Arctic Council (MAC), an experiential learningsimulation designed to expand students’ knowledge and understanding of the Arctic and its governance. While much of the discourse relatedto simulations such as the MAC emphasizes its pedagogical and networking benefits, this article leverages participant-based ethnographyto argue that the MAC also affects multi-track diplomaticoutcomes in addition to serving as a site for diplomaticengagement. Applying an interpretive approach driven by the onset of practice-tracing in international relations, we demonstrate that the MAC both produces and constitutes diplomacy. Such a reimagination elevates the diplomacyof non-state actorsand exposes false binaries between state diplomacyand non-state diplomacy.