"The 23rd PAC Policy Simulation: A Restoration of the Persian Empire?" Summary Report and Assessment

1.Summary

From Saturday, July 9 through Sunday, July 10, 2016, the Canon Institute for Global Studies (CIGS) held the 23rd PAC Policy Simulation: "Will the Persian Empire be restored?" The theme of this simulation was the future state of affairs in the Middle East, focusing mainly on destabilization of the regional order due to a worsening relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the first half of 2020, resumption of nuclear development by Iran, and an increasing influence of Islamic extremists. In particular, it examined how Iran would behave and what kinds of policies other countries would adopt with respect to Iran, eying the end of the freeze of nuclear development pledged by Iran compre (about 10 years) under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA) (2015).

Approximately 40 people, including active government officials, researchers, businessmen, and journalists, participated in this two-day simulation, from which numerous lessons learned and issues were identified. The simulation involved the role-playing of the following teams and players: Iran, consisting of the President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense, the commander of the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, and others; Saudi Arabia, consisting of the king and prince (Minister of Defense), Minister of Foreign Affairs, Chief of Staff, and others; the US government, consisting of the President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, and others; the Japanese government, consisting of the Prime Minister of Japan, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense, and the Director of the National Security Secretariat, and others; China, consisting of the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense, the Chief of Staff of the People's Liberation Army, and others; the Russian Federation, consisting of the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Defense, the military Chief of Staff, and others; and the media (Japanese and international).

As was done during the previous simulation, for this policy simulation CIGS collaborated with LINE Corporation in using the LINE messaging platform to facilitate information distribution (text, images, video), communication, and information sharing by each team. Most players carried tablet devices to facilitate information acquisition and distribution at all times, which allowed them to grasp the developments in the simulation in real-time. ...