Charlemagne, the medieval king of Franks, controlled modern America and hoped to expand its borders by invading your neighbors.

Now, I'm not a historian. But the example above makes a lot of sense to me as a gamer and professor of international relations.

This is a possible result of the recently released video game Civilization VII (CIV 7), where different historical figures can control people far from their actual historical characters. In this case, Charlemagne was dissatisfied with the small empire that could not be controlled by friction along the common border and would likely invade soon.

I've always been a Civ 7's lifelong fan. I tend to play strategy games, whether it's videos, cards, boards or role-playing games. And I'm not alone. An estimated 190.6 million people in the United States regularly play video games in some form.

While my main reason may be enjoyment, they also inform the subjects I teach. In fact, I just published a book, The International Relations Game Player's Guide, which explains how some of the most popular games around me include lessons for people seeking to understand the ways of diplomacy and how different countries interact.

Although CIV 7 may attempt to mimic this world of conflict and cooperation, other games that have no obvious connection to geopolitics can also offer courses. In particular, Fortnite, League of Legends and Minecraft invites gamers to interact with the world to simulate the way leaders, governments and countries behave.

In three ways, the game creates a world that simulates key concepts from international relations:

1. Fortress for Realpolitik

Fortnite is a video game focused on making weapons and survival that can be used as an introduction to the RealPolitik concept.

The core part of Fortnite is its battle-Royal, third-person shooter. In the Battle of the Royals, you are fighting against 99 other players and becoming the last one.

The spirit of "everyone" can be confusing and challenging, dying and defeating lurking in every bush.

It reminds me of the thoughts behind the theory of realism in international relations. Realists see the world as anarchy, without a general moral or physical authority telling the statement how to do it, in other words, a person without a world government.

This is a self-help system that finds security and uses force to resolve disputes, state survival, prosperity or death based on accruals.

Realism theory listened to the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who famously stated that “the strong do their best, while the weak suffer the pain they must.”

The phrase has become the core tenet of foreign policy realists. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, led by President Richard Nixon, sees foreign policy as a strategic enterprise based on power, while largely ignoring other demands such as human rights and justice.

But even in international anarchy, cooperation is attractive to realists. Kissinger, for example, seeks a positive relationship with China and predicts that by working with China, the United States can take advantage of the growing divisions between the Soviet Union and China.

From Kissinger's perspective, China is the importance of being a communist, but more important to the Soviet Union's strength and distrust.

How does this work for Fortnite? Well, in the game, you may encounter two players. When this happens, the player must quickly decide to retreat or join the competition. If you participate in a fight, you can work with weaker players to eliminate stronger enemies, or join the strong and eliminate the weak.

At Fortnite, occasionally in international politics, anyone you choose will immediately become your competitor, so you have to choose wisely. Enemies' enemies won't leave your friends forever.

LOL and lasting allies

League of Legends, known as LOL or Fan League, is a game with seemingly simple ideas: a team of five players fight another game to destroy their base.

Mastering the game is far from simple. In the process, you can add valuable international relations courses on the importance of building a lasting alliance.

Players are still anonymous and can be very toxic to each other - tending to blame the team's failure on anyone but themselves.

If you join as a solo player, you will join four other people you don't know and win or lose the match in the next 30 minutes.

You will develop a rapport with some teammates and hope to continue playing with them. At other times, you will find someone who supplements your skills and can be a one-pair ranking match and work together to win.

In this case, haha ​​is more similar to the liberal theory of international relations. Liberalism should not be confused with political identity in American politics, it limits realism’s perception of the world. Instead, it teaches that cooperation can tolerate pure power politics.

Liberalism shows that in the long run, alliances can benefit each other, rather than temporary alliances that collapse immediately after achieving their goals.

Take the United States and the United Kingdom as examples. The two countries formed an alliance in the crisis of the two world wars. By the end of World War II, they had established long-term partnerships, thus building international institutions that had lasted for 80 years.

Liberalism believes that all countries can find solutions that benefit both sides, without any side being at a disadvantage. This is in stark contrast to the realism’s view of the world, as the expenses on one side come at the cost of the other.

In both liberalism and League of Legends, interaction can create positive results for both sides.

My World and Build the World

Turning to one of the most popular games in the world, Minecraft, we find a valuable lesson in the third concept of international relations: constructivism.

Constructivism believes that the world is socially constructed. That is, international political rules are created by human beings and states, chosen to be something that is obeyed and willing to be executed.

This is very useful with Minecraft. People of all ages can enjoy it - but it depends on the player's choice to play the game. You can build a house or castle, or you can choose to find and defeat Ender Dragon. Alternatively, you can turn on creative mode and decide to make art or large-scale engineering projects.

The key is that you and your friends must determine a common goal or collectively decide to pursue their own interests, and this concept is at the heart of constructivism. States can decide to create a more liberal world by signing a treaty together or joining international organizations that change what states can and cannot do. Also, states may view such adventures as facades and decide that the most important thing is power and security. Both realists and free states can exist in the same world.

Like Minecraft players, states may see the world as a world where everyone is a threat, in line with realism. Or they might see the world and the world that cooperates to provide everyone with a better experience.

In Minecraft, as in international politics, the goals, rules and punishments for those who deviate are collectively determined.

Dig deeper

Games like Minecraft, League of Legends, and Fortnite seem to be a pastime rather than a learning experience. But they can help people connect with the concept of trying to explain a huge and confusing world. Being able to master the mysterious and complex world of international relations can make the world easier to manage.