Our resources thrust participants into the heart of real-world scenarios, from crisis management in the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic to cross-party education reform in Brazil.
Many of our resources are available on The Case Centre distribution platform. Educators who are registered with the site can access free review copies of our case studies, teaching notes, and other materials.
To inquire about our other cases or background materials, please contact us at casecentre@bsg.ox.ac.uk.
Egypt in constitutional crisis
In November 2012, in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution, opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei faced a pivotal decision on his role in supporting the new democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Though ElBaradei and other liberal and secular figures had previously supported the Brotherhood during the revolution, they were wary of the Brotherhood’s Islamist agenda. Their primary concern was the makeup of the constituent assembly responsible for drafting Egypt's new constitution, which they believed failed to represent Egypt’s diversity. Many liberal figures were threatening to boycott the assembly in protest.
With the assembly on the brink of collapse, Morsi sought dialogue with ElBaradei and other opposition figures to reach a consensus on the constitution draft. However, ElBaradei doubted the sincerity of Morsi’s intention to form a more representative assembly. Accepting Morsi's olive branch would symbolically legitimize his government and conservative agenda, while refusing could delay constitution drafting, leaving Morsi with unchecked powers and the country vulnerable to a military takeover. As fault lines deepened between Islamists and secularists, ElBaradei grappled with the decision to accept the invitation.
- Understand how hidden preferences can lead to regime instability, especially in authoritarian regimes;
- Recognise the power of organisation and mobilisation prior to a window of opportunity;
- Understand the challenges of maintaining pro-democracy coalitions during regime-founding moments.
Mining Royalties in Nafasia
Nafasia, a fictional central African country, has vast cobalt deposits, but among the lowest cobalt royalty rates in the world. As global cobalt prices skyrocket, the government seeks to renegotiate the rate with Alloy, the largest mining company operating in the country.
This is a short two-party, single-issue negotiation over setting a mining royalty rate. Students role-play the negotiation as either the representative of the mining company or the government’s minister of mines. Through the simulation, students become familiar with distributive negotiation techniques and learn key elements of negotiation analysis (including BATNA and ZOPA).
- Understand the purpose and nature of distributive negotiations;
- Learn and use core negotiation concepts;
- Identify and use common value-claiming tactics.
Building Schools in Cássio
This role-play centres around a school shortage in the fictional Brazilian municipality of Cássio. The municipality wants to build schools through a public-private partnership, but has come to an impasse over the price with the leading bidder, Plano Inteligente. In this short two-party, multi-issue negotiation, students role-play a negotiation between the municipal secretary of education and the managing director of Plano to introduce them to the dynamics of integrative negotiations.
This is a short two-party, multi-issue negotiation over a public-private partnership to build schools in Brazil. Students role-play a negotiation as either the secretary of education or the managing director of a private company. The role-play introduces students to the core features of integrative negotiations, allowing them to differentiate it conceptually from distributive negotiations.
The role-play also helps students understand the ‘negotiator’s dilemma’ and learn a range of moves that can be used to create value in a negotiation.
- Identify, analyse and participate in integrative negotiations;
- Understand importance of negotiation on the basis of interests instead of positions;
- Distinguish between integrative (value-creating) and distributive (value-claiming) moves.