黑料社

Rex J. Brynen

Academic title(s): 

Professor

NOTE: I anticipate retirement at the end of the 2027/28 academic year. Because of this, I am no longer accepting PhD students or post-doctoral fellows.

Rex J. Brynen
Contact Information
Address: 

855 Sherbrooke St. W.
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 2T7

Phone: 
514 399-9646
Email address: 
rex.brynen [at] mcgill.ca
Office: 
Leacock 510
Awards, honours, and fellowships: 

2024 Charles S. Roberts Award winner, Best Tactical Wargame, for We Are Coming, Nineveh! (Also nominated in two other categories.)

2024 Games4Change Award nominee, Best Educational Game, for READY2: Thisland in Crisis.

2023 Bronze Medal, Best e-Learning, Brandon Hall Excellence Awards, for READY2: Thisland in Crisis.

2022听Bronze Medal, International Serious Play Awards, for Outbreak READY!

2011听Deborah Gerner Innovative Teaching Award, International Studies Association

2003听Principal鈥檚 Award for Excellence in Teaching, 黑料社

2002听H. Noel Fieldhouse Award for Distinguished Teaching, 黑料社

Degree(s): 

PhD, University of Calgary (Thesis: Sanctuary and Survival: The PLO in Lebanon)

MA, University of Calgary

BA, University of Victoria

Research areas: 
Comparative Government and Politics
Areas of interest: 
  • Conflict simulation and serious game design.
  • Security and development in fragile and conflict-affected states.
  • Middle East politics: Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon; Arab-Israeli peace process (with special emphasis on development assistance and refugees); regional conflict, security and development in the Middle East; authoritarianism and democratization in the Arab world.
  • Intelligence analysis and strategic forecasting.

Professional activities: 
  • CNN Academy (2022-present)
  • (2020-23)
  • Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Atlantic Council (2016-18)
  • Interdepartmental Experts Group on Middle East Intelligence, Intelligence Assessment Staff, Privy Council Office (1995-2018)
  • Special Advisor, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1995-96)
  • Political and Security Policy Staff, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (1994-95)
  • Short-term consultant to: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,听Canadian International Development Agency, Department of National Defence, Defence Research & Development Canada, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (UK Ministry of Defence), Global Affairs Canada, International Development Research Centre, Privy Council Office, NATO, Slitherine Software, US Department of State,听World Bank, various United Nations agencies, and others.
Selected publications: 

Books

  • , 9th ed. (with Howard Handelman). New York:听Rowman & Littlefield, 2019.
  • 听(co-editor and contributor, with Roula el-Rifai). London: Pluto Books, 2013.
  • 听(co-editor and contributor, with Roula el-Rifai). London: Pluto Books, 2013.
  • 听(coauthor with Pete Moore, Bassel Salloukh, and Marie-Joelle Zahar). Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2012.
  • 听(co-editor and contributor, with Roula el-Rifai). London: I.B. Tauris, 2007.
  • 听(co-editor and contributor, with Bassel Salloukh). London: Ashgate, 2004.
  • 听Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace, 2000.
  • ,听(co-editor and contributor, with Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble), Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1998.
  • ,听(co-editor and contributor, with Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble). Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1995.
  • The Many Faces of National Security in the Arab World.听(coeditor and contributor, with Bahgat Korany and Paul Noble). London: Macmillan, 1993.
  • Echoes of the Intifada: Regional Repercussions of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict.听(editor, and contributor with Neil Caplan) Boulder: Westview Press, 1991.
  • Sanctuary and Survival: The PLO in Lebanon.听Boulder: Westview Press, 1990.

Serious Games (selected)

    • Abu Dhabi 2022-25
    • Mexico City 2024-25
    • University College Dublin, 2025
  • (design team member, READY Initiative, 2024)
  • (design team member, READY Initiative, 2023)
  • 听with Juliette Le M茅nah猫ze, Harrison Brewer, and Brian Train (Nuts! Publishing, 2022).
  • Delivering the Needle: COVID-19 vaccine national tabletop exercise (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2020)
  • (The New Yorker, 2020)
  • (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 2020)
  • (The Game Crafter, 2017)
  • (Global Affairs Canada, 2017)
  • (Connections UK, 2017)
  • 听(The Game Crafter, 2016)
  • 听(The Game Crafter, 2015)

Articles and Book Chapters

  • Rex Brynen, 鈥淎ll Politics is Local? A Stakeholder Consultation Classroom Simulation,鈥 in Ryan Gibb et al, eds. Short Games and Active Learning in Political Science: Beating the Clock (Taylor & Francis, forthcoming).
  • 鈥淕aming 鈥楩og and Friction鈥: How Simulations Enhance Student Learning of Complex Policy Processes.鈥 In Matthew Schnurr and Ann Macleod, eds.,听 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2021).
  • 鈥,鈥 Digital War (Summer 2020).
  • "."听In Mick Dumper, ed.,听Contested Holy Cities: Urban Dimensions of Religious Conflicts听(London: Routledge, 2019).
  • 鈥淒emocracy and Security in the post-Arab Spring Middle East.鈥 In Anders J盲gerskog, Michael Schulz, and Ashok Swain, eds.,The Routledge Handbook on Middle Eastern Security听(London: 2019).
  • Rex Brynen, 鈥淚ncorporating Nonkinetic Effects and Semicooperative Play into Wargame Design.鈥 In Graham Longley-Brown, Successful Professional Wargames: A Practitioner鈥檚 Guide (History of Wargaming Project, 2019).
  • "." (with Simon Drees and Karin Geffert). GMS Journal for Medical Education 35, 4 (2018).
  • 鈥淚SIS Crisis: Using a Matrix Game to Explore Contemporary Conflict.鈥 In John Curry, Chris Engle, and Peter Perla,听eds.,听The Matrix Game Handbook: Professional Applications from Education to Analysis and Wargaming (History of Wargaming Project, 2018).
  • "Compensation for Palestinian Refugees: Law, Politics, and Praxis," Israel Law Review听51, 1 (2018).
  • "Here (Very Likely) Be Dragons: The Challenges of Strategic Forecasting."听In Thomas Juneau, ed.,听(Rowman & Littlefield, 2017).
  • "Gaming the Non-Kinetic." In听Pat Harrigan and Matthew Kirschenbaum, eds.,听(Cambridge: MIT Press, 2016).
  • 鈥,鈥澨Revista Espa帽ola de Desarrollo y Cooperaci贸n听35 (Winter 2015).
  • ","听International Peacekeeping听21, 4 (2014).
  • "UNRWA as Avatar: Current Debates on the Agency 鈥 and their Implications." In Sari Hanafi, Leila Hilal, and Lex Takkenberg., eds.听. London: Routledge, 2014.
  • "" (with Gary Milante).听Simulation & Gaming听44, 1 (February 2013).
  • ","听Middle East Journal, 67, 1 (Winter 2013).
  • "Refugees." In Joel Peters and David Newman, eds.听. (London: Routledge, 2012).
  • 鈥淭he Iraq War and (non)Democratization in the Arab World.鈥 In Mokhtar Lamani and Bessma Momani, eds.听From Desolation to Reconstruction: Iraq鈥檚 Troubled Journey听(Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2010).
  • ,听PS: Political Science & Politics听43 (January 2010).
  • 鈥淧alestine: Building Neither Peace Nor State鈥 In Charles Call and Vanessa Hawkins Wyeth, eds.,听Building States to Build Peace听(Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2008).
  • 鈥淎id as Carrot, Aid as Stick: The Politics of Aid Conditionality in the Palestinian Territories,"听Accord听(2008).
  • 鈥淐anada's Role in the Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process鈥. In Paul Heinbecker and Bessma Momani, eds,听Canada and the Middle East: In Theory and Practice听(Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2007).
  • 鈥淢anaging Public Resources: The Experience of the Palestinian 鈥淧roto-State鈥濃. In James Boyce and Madalene O鈥橠onnell, eds,听Peace and the Public Purse: Economic Policies for Postwar Statebuilding听(Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2007).
  • (with David Romano) 鈥淭he Palestinians: Finding No Freedom in Liberation鈥 In Ray Hinnebusch and Rick Fawn, eds.听The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences听(Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006).
  • 鈥淧erspectives on Palestinian Refugee Repatriation鈥 In Mick Dumper, ed.听Palestinian Refugee Repatriation: Global Perspectives听(London: Routledge, 2006).
  • 鈥淒onor Assistance: Lessons from Palestine for Afghanistan.鈥 In Gerd Junne and Willemijn Verkoren, eds,听Post Conflict Development: Meeting New Challenges听(Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2004).
  • ""听Middle East Journal, Spring 2002.
  • "Mirror, Mirror? The Politics of TV Science Fiction." In David Schultz, ed.,听It's Showtime! Media, Politics and Popular Culture听(Baltimore: Peter Lang, 2000).
  • "Palestine." (with Hisham Awartani and Clare Woodcraft). In Shepard Forman and Stewart Patrick, eds.,听Good Intentions: Pledges of Aid for Post-Conflict Recovery.听Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2000.
  • "Building Economic Peace and Regional Security: The Primacy of Politics" [in Arabic]. In Augustus Richard Norton, ed.,听al-Amin fi al-sharq al-awsat: tawjihat jadidah听[Security in the Middle East: New Directions]. Palestinian Council on Foreign Relations, 1999.
  • "Recent Political Developments." In World Bank,听Development Under Adversity? The Palestinian Economy in Transition听(Washington, DC: World Bank,1998).
  • "Much Ado about Nothing? The Refugee Working Group and the Perils of Multilateral Quasinegotiation,"听International Negotiations听2, 2 (November 1997).
  • ","听Journal of Palestine Studies听26, 2 (Winter 1997).
  • (with Jill Tansley) "The Refugee Working Group of the Middle East Multilateral Peace Negotiations,"听Israel-Palestine Journal听2, 4 (Autumn 1995).
  • ","听Journal of Palestine Studies听25, 1 (1995).
  • "The Palestinians and Confidence-Building Measures in the Arab-Israeli Conflict", in G. Ben-Dor and D. Dewitt, eds,听Confidence and Security Building in the Middle East: The Arab-Israeli Nexus听(Boulder: Westview Press, 1994).
  • "",听Canadian Journal of Political Science, 35, 1 (1992).
  • (with Paul Noble) "The Gulf Conflict and the Arab State System: A New Regional Order?"听Arab Studies Quarterly13, 1-2 (Winter/Spring 1991).
  • "",听Canadian Journal of Political Science, (1991).

Other Reports

  • Sean William Havel, Peter Dobias, Sarah Babbit, Suzanne Waldman, Rex Brynen, David Connell, Francesco Qualizza, Zoe Fajber,Alex Karasick, Use of Intermediate Force Capability Game Series: Information Operations and Information Warfare (U). Defence Research and Development Canada, 2022. DRDC-RDDC-2022-N337 (NATO UNCLASSIFIED/CAN PROTECTED A).
  • . Washington, DC: Atlantic Council, September 2016.
  • Building a Better Relationship: Palestinian Refugees, Lebanon, and the Role of the International Community,听Ottawa: International Development Research Centre, 2009.
  • ,听Chatham House Briefing Paper, June 2008.
  • . Chatham House, June 2008.
  • 鈥.鈥 Paper presented to the Metropolis Interconference Seminar on Immigrants and Homeland, Dubrovnik, Croatia, 9-11 May 2002.
  • Aid Effectiveness in the West Bank and Gaza. Washington DC: World Bank, June 2000. (principal author).听,听,听,听,听,听,听
  • "." Workshop Report, IDRC/PRRN, July 1999.

Online Materials (selection)

  • "," Strategic Studies Unit, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, 24 February 2023.
  • "," PAXsims, 15 January 2023.
  • "," with Ben Taylor, Public Health Ontario,听31 May 2022.
  • "," PAXsims, 11 November 2020.
  • "," PAXsims, 30 June 2019.
  • ," PAXsims, 20 June 2019,
  • "," PAXsims, 10 October 2017.
  • "," PAXsims, 7 October 2017.
  • "," PAXsims, 9 September 2017.
  • "," PAXsims, 4 June 2016.
  • ","听PAXsims, 5 March 2016.
  • ","听PAXsims.
  • "l,"听PAXsims, 8 March 2015.
  • ","听Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet, 8 August 2014.
  • ","听Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet, 30 July 2014.
  • ","听PAXsims, 17 March 2014.
  • ","听PAXsims, 23 February 2014.
  • ","听PAXsims, 29 September 2013.
  • ",鈥澨CNN Global Public Square, 23 January 2012.
  • ","听Palestinian Refugee ResearchNet, 26 January 2011.
  • ","听PAXsims, 19 June 2010.

See also:

  • 鈥攁 web resource on the use of simulations for teaching and training with regard to fragile and conflict-affected countries.
Selected talks and presentations: 

鈥(War)gaming Women, Peace, and Security,鈥 Women, Peace, and Security conference 2025, Ottawa, 29 October 2025.

鈥淟ARPing and Learning: Achieving Educational Objectives at CNN Academy,鈥 Georgetown University Wargaming Society (virtual), 3 June 2025.

鈥淲inning with a Wider Game: Connecting with Academic and Civilian (War)gaming Capabilities,鈥 Defence Research and Development Canada and NATO SAS-SP-003 (hybrid), 21 May 2025.

鈥淕aming the Apocalypse,鈥 Stone Paper Scissors Serious Game Design and Experimentation Seminar, hybrid, 9 May 2025.

鈥淕aming Public and Humanitarian Health,鈥 Universit茅 de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, 14 April 2025.

鈥淲argaming Deception,鈥 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Portsdown West, UK, 1 August 2024.

鈥淒iversity and Inclusion in Professional Wargames,鈥 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Portsdown West, UK, 30 July 2024.

鈥淗umanitarian gaming,鈥 Technische Hochschule K枚ln, Cologne, 12 March 2024.

鈥淭he Future of Gaza,鈥 (online), Doha Institute, Qatar, 26 February 2024.

鈥凄别蝉颈驳苍颈苍驳 We Are Coming, Nineveh!,鈥 NATO WIN23 conference, Rome, June 2023.

Kit Barry, Rex Brynen, et al, 鈥淲estern Approaches Tactical Unit Convoy Escort Wargame,鈥 Western Approaches HQ War Museum, Liverpool, May 2023.

Rex Brynen 鈥淪imulation Games for Crisis Management,鈥 conference on Simulation Games for Global Pandemic Resilience, Santa Fe Institute, May 2023.

Rex Brynen, 鈥淢inefields and Mishaps in Professional Wargaming,鈥 Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, UK Ministry of Defence, Portsdown West, May 2023.

Rex Brynen and Ben Taylor, 鈥淕aming and Pandemics: Agile Analysis in Time of Crisis.鈥 Public Health Ontario, May 2022.

"Exploring Conflict Dynamics with Matrix Games," York Historical Warfare Analysis Group, October 2021.

Rex Brynen and Hannah Hamrick, 鈥凄别蝉颈驳苍颈苍驳 a Digital Outbreak Simulation,鈥 Connections UK professional wargaming conference, September 2021.

鈥淢ilitary Innovation in the Arab Civil Wars,鈥 Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, September 2021.

鈥淥R Support to Canada鈥檚 COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout,鈥 International Symposium on Military Operations Research, July 2021.

鈥淕aming the geopolitics of energy transition: Serious game considerations,鈥 Ghent University/Delft University of Technology/TU Munich, May 2021.

鈥淭he post-COVID-19 Middle East: Lessons from the Arab Spring,鈥 National Intelligence University, March 2021.

鈥淟everaging Games for Strategic Foresight,鈥 Global Affairs Canada/Defence Research and Development Canada/Connections North webinar, July 2020.

Courses: 

POLI 340 (Comparative Politics of the Middle East)

POLI 452 (Conflict Simulation)

POLI 640 (Middle East Politics)

POLI 650 (Peacebuilding)

Group: 
Professor
Back to top