January 22, 2025
The following is an excerpt from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
Students in the Nonproliferation Treaty Simulation course take a break at the end of a negotiating session, with conference chair Ariel (Phantitra) Phuphaphantakarn MANPTS ’25 seated at center. (Credit: Eduardo Fujii )
It’s unique among Middlebury Institute courses: students devote an entire semester to simulating an international treaty negotiation—stepping into the shoes of an international diplomat for hours each week.
“No matter what your role is, you’re going to learn something, you’re going to grow,” says nonproliferation and terrorism studies student Ariel (Phantitra) Phuphaphantakarn of the Institute’s renowned Nonproliferation Treaty Simulation course.
The course was created and is led by nonproliferation and terrorism studies professor Dr. William Potter, a leading global expert on nonproliferation treaties.
“I have been using simulations—what I think of as ‘active learning’—as a pedagogical tool since my days as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Michigan,” says Potter, who is also the founding director of the Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “I find role-playing to be by far the most effective means for students to acquire an ability to ‘see with the eyes of others’ and to acquire the kind of empathy that is crucial for building trust and respect in international negotiations—commodities sorely lacking in international relations today.”
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is a landmark international treaty—the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of nuclear disarmament by the nuclear-weapons states. With 191 signatories, it entered into force in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, with a review of the treaty taking place at five-year intervals.
“It has always been my intention to dive into nuclear nonproliferation,” says Phuphaphantakarn, a native of Thailand. “Dr. Potter is a very prominent scholar in the field, so to be able to take the class with him is a must.”
She was selected for the role of chair, requiring her to plan and facilitate countless hours of both formal and informal negotiation among the participating nations, each represented by a student.
Continue reading at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.
