Peaceful transfers of power have defined the United States for centuries. Why are they so crucial to democracy? Come find out at this film screening of War Games (2024) on Tuesday, October 22 from 4:30PM to 6:30PM PT in the USC Ray Stark Family Theatre.

IN PERSON REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gaming-for-democracy-war-games-2024-screening-tickets-1028434945607

This documentary thriller film follows American officials simulating a coup after a disputed election. War Game sweeps audiences into an elaborate future-set simulation that dramatically escalates the threat posed by the January 6, 2021 insurrection. The film follows a bipartisan group of US defense, intelligence, and elected policymakers spanning five presidential administrations as they participate in an unscripted role-play exercise. Portraying a fictional President of the United States and his advisors, they confront a political coup backed by rogue members of the US military in the wake of a contested 2024 presidential election.

The people in this role-play simulation include former Senators, military leaders, and intelligence officials, and national security experts. They have only six hours to save American democracy. The simulation’s outcome hinges on several inflection points, from the government’s capacity to counter the disinformation that’s effectively spread by the insurgent side to the potential invocation of the Insurrection Act (i.e., the “nuclear option”). While the exercise served to stress test our institutions, the film is a critical wake-up call, underscoring the urgent need for bipartisanship in safeguarding American democracy.

Mugambi Jouet, Professor at the USC Gould School of Law, will provide opening remarks. Kamy Akhavan, Executive Director of USC's Center for the Political Future, and TreaAndrea Russworm, Professsor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts will moderate a short discussion. Panelists for the discussion include:

Janessa Goldbeck - CEO of Vet Voice Foundation, a national nonprofit organization with over 1.5 million members that mobilizes veterans to have a voice in our democracy. Goldbeck, a Marine Corps veteran, deployed overseas as a Combat Engineer Officer, managing engineering, logistics, and explosive ordnance disposal missions in support of NATO operations.

Ben Radd - Founder of Fascination Lab, a results-driven strategic educational team hired to develop experiential learning, professional development, and traditional training, including the design and execution of role-playing programs and simulations. He is a Law lecturer at USC and lecturer of global studies, international and area studies, and political science at UCLA. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Burkle Center for International Relations at the UCLA International Institute and a Research Fellow with the UCLA Center for Middle East Development.

Gregory Treverton - Professor Emeritus of the Practice of International Relations and Spatial Sciences at the University of Southern California. He served as chairman of the National Intelligence Council from September 2014 to January 2017. Earlier, he directed the RAND Corporation’s Center for Global Risk and Security, and before that, its Intelligence Policy Center and its International Security and Defense Policy Center. He also was associate dean of the Pardee RAND Graduate School.

He has served in government for the first Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, handling Europe for the National Security Council and as vice chair of the National Intelligence Council, overseeing the writing of America’s National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs).  In addition to RAND, he has taught at Harvard and Columbia universities, has been a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and also Deputy Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

This screening and discussion are being held as a joint program of the USC Center for the Political Future, the USC Games program of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, and the USC Gould School of Law.
 

IN PERSON REGISTRATION: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/gaming-for-democracy-war-games-2024-screening-tickets-1028434945607