Encouragement of Learning Through War Video Games as an Intelligible Textbook on International Humanitarian Law

32 Pages Posted: 16 Oct 2020

Date Written: July 1, 2020

Abstract

This study analyzes the manner in which undergraduate students learn International Humanitarian Law (“IHL”) through the war video game Arma 3 by means of the grounded theory approach and considers the effect of learning IHL through video games. As a result of data analysis, “identifying the targets of attacks” emerges as a core concept on the phenomenon of learning IHL through video games in addition to eight sub-concepts encircling this core concept. Sorting out the relevance among these concepts, the present study discovers six patterns to explicate the phenomenon, which are as follows: (A) smooth IHL learning with the use of knowledge already acquired; (B) committing illegal acts as virtual reality; (C) disregarding the instructors’ lectures and committing illegal acts; (D) learning IHL norms on the basis of lectures by the instructors; (E) discovery of IHL norms during game-play; and (F) trajectory modification from illegal acts. By inter-comparing these six patterns, the author isolated four distinct operations that are central to IHL application learning through war games, which include 1) paying attention to lectures by the instructors; 2) working on elements for identifying the targets of attacks; 3) imagining real fighting conditions and feeling empathy for real combatants; and 4) paying attention to admonitions after illegal acts. Accordingly, so as to achieve further improvement of the effect of IHL learning through war video games, it can be contended that adopting contrivances that enable players to pass through these four operations is extremely important.

Suggested Citation

Minai, Keisuke, Encouragement of Learning Through War Video Games as an Intelligible Textbook on International Humanitarian Law (July 1, 2020). Cornell International Law Journal, Vol. 52, No. 4, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3681857

Keisuke Minai (Contact Author)

Meijo University ( email )

Japan

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