Michael Allen, professor and lead of the political science program at Boise State, recently published a new book titled “The Gamer’s Guide to International Relations.” The book uses popularly played video games to explain international relations concepts. In the book, Allen aims to use games like League of Legends and Minecraft to show that ideas learned in video games can help provide an understanding of global politics.
“I enjoy competitive gaming as a hobby and play video, board, role-playing, card and miniature games. Likewise, I use games and simulations in my international relations class, so the idea that I should use one of my hobbies, which some people estimate that half the global population engages with at some level, as a tool to teach international relations has been percolating in my head for a while,” Allen said of how he formulated the idea for the book.
The book focuses on various genres gaming. Through archetypes like League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Minecraft, Civilization and Fortnite, each game facilitates a better understanding of theories like realism, liberalism, constructivism and topics such as monetary policy, civil war or global health policy.
“Other books have used things like zombies, science fiction, or Harry Potter to think about international relations, but there is currently no other book on using gaming to understand international relations,” Allen said. “The gaming industry is an entertainment industry, worth more than the film and music industry combined. It is more popular than what our stereotype of a gamer from 30 years ago would indicate.”
Allen will be using the book as a teaching tool in his Fall 2025 POLS 208 class, World Politics Through Gaming, helping students unpack complex concepts in comparative politics and international relations.