For some time now, we have been intensively examining the effects of the shift to the right in society on our workshops and political education in general. We have developed a guide for dealing with extreme right-wing, inhuman statements and have considered whether, when and how we can represent extreme right-wing actors in simulation games. These processes are ongoing – we see the guide as a living document, and the question of how to deal with right-wing extremist political actors arises again with every simulation game development.

Recently, however, there was another opportunity to record our thoughts and embed them in a scientific context: We presented our considerations on dealing with right-wing populist and right-wing extremist parties in (EU) simulation games at the SimGame Anniversary Conference of the College of Europe in Bruges. The fact that right-wing populist and right-wing extremist actors even hold positions as heads of state and government in other European countries is nothing new. However, following the last European elections, the majorities in the European Parliament have also shifted in this direction. So, no matter which institution we look at, right-wing populist and right-wing extremist actors are now always part of the picture.

In our paper, we identify three key risks associated with the inclusion of right-wing populist and right-wing extremist actors in simulation games: Firstly, their tactics can significantly impair the flow and dynamics of the game. Secondly, the reproduction of discriminatory or exclusionary language can cause psychological stress for participants, especially those who are the target of such rhetoric. This can jeopardise the safe participation of all in political education formats. Thirdly, the inclusion of populist-radical narratives could unintentionally normalise anti-democratic and discriminatory positions, which may promote their social acceptance.

These risks conflict with didactic goals such as realism and controversy, which are enshrined as basic principles of political education in the Beutelsbach Consensus, among other places. In this respect, the risks associated with the involvement of right-wing populist and right-wing extremist actors must always be weighed against the requirements of realistic representation and controversy.

We have highlighted three aspects that we consider in the decision whether and to what extent we need to adapt simulation games in order to minimise risks:

· the target group (age and prior knowledge of the participants)

· the context (voluntary/involuntary participation in the workshop)

· the learning objective (learning about specific policies in a policy area or political lines of conflict)

In some cases, we ultimately decide that no adaptations are necessary. At the same time, there are a wide variety of cases in which we have decided to adapt the simulation games. In our paper, we discuss various examples in more detail and explain our reasoning.

Regardless of the decision we ultimately make, it is important to us to consider the possible consequences of portraying right-wing populist and extremist actors in advance of the respective simulation workshop. If you would like to learn more about this, please read our conference paper, which is currently in the process of being published.