Students in Professor Hurrelmann’s MA course EURR 5106/PSCI 5609 (“Selected Topics in European Integration Studies”) conducted a simulation of the Brexit negotiations in November 2017. The initiative was supported by the Jean Monnet Chair “Democracy in the European Union”. After extensive preparations, students spent two weeks negotiating the issues of citizens’ rights, border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and future cooperation on security and defence policy. Each student in the class was assigned the role of an actor participating in the Brexit process, including the main EU and UK negotiators (Michel Barnier and David Davis), leaders of selected EU member states (Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, Mariano Rajoy, Leo Varadkar, Beata Szydło), British politicians (Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Arlene Foster, etc.), and the media. In addition to formally scheduled negotiation sessions during class time, students met outside of class for bilateral consultations and actively argued for their positions in mock Twitter messages. The simulation concluded with a compromise agreement on the three selected issues. A report on the simulation is available on the Faculty of Public Affairs website.
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Brexit simulation: MA students sketch path to compromise