Date: December 9, 2025, at 2:00 PM
Format: In-person / onsite
Venue: Lviv, Universytetska St. 1, Room 301
Participants: 3 teams consisting of 4th- and 5th-year Political Science students, as well as audience members
Jury: Prof. Anatolii Romaniuk and Prof. Vitalii Lytvyn
We are pleased to invite you to participate in the third student team game organized by the Department of Political Science, “Building Liberal Democracy Together.” The event will take place within the framework of the international Jean Monnet Module project “Political Institutions and Systems in Europe: Comparison and Experience for Ukraine” under the Erasmus+ Programme. This is an excellent opportunity to take part in an interactive educational simulation, work in teams, experience the dynamics of democratic processes and interinstitutional relations, and better understand how modern political systems are formed and function. We warmly invite everyone interested to join this engaging, educational, and inspiring event!
Game Scenario: The event features three fictional states (three teams) that have just gained independence. Each state is represented by a team of five students acting as the “founding fathers.” The countries differ in their initial characteristics: one is a unitary centralized state, another is a unitary decentralized state, and the third is a federal state. They also differ in their systems of government: among them are a presidential republic, a semi-presidential republic, and a parliamentary republic (or parliamentary monarchy). Before gaining independence, all three states existed under autocratic rule. They are now entering a stage of institutional engineering, which each team will carry out according to its starting conditions, chosen strategies, and desired outcomes.
The main task is to design an institutional architecture that will facilitate the transition toward sustainable democratic development and the consolidation of liberal democracy. During the game, teams will determine which institutions their states require and which reforms can strengthen democracy. Based on the outcomes of their work, the states may (or may not) receive an opportunity to begin the path toward membership in a prestigious international or supranational organization modeled after the European Union.
The distribution of state formats, systems of government, and other parameters will be determined by drawing lots during the game itself. Discussions within the simulation will address key issues such as:
- interaction within the triangle of “head of state – government – parliament”;
- party systems and electoral rules;
- the role and influence of civil society.
All discussions and decisions will shape the overall strategy of the states on their path toward liberal democracy and create space for creative, analytical, and team-based solutions.
The educational simulation game has been developed and will be conducted by the Department of Political Science in cooperation with the student society “Polis.” The initiative is implemented with the financial support of the European Union within the framework of the Erasmus+ Programme under the action “Jean Monnet for Higher Education” (Module “Political Institutions and Systems in Europe: Comparison and Experience for Ukraine,” No. 101126702). Thanks to this support, it has become possible to create a high-quality educational simulator combining practical modeling, teamwork, and in-depth analysis of political institutions. The game is intended to promote a better understanding of European political processes and the development of democratic competencies among students.
