Our world is now swelling with armed conflicts and wars that are imbued with harsh narratives and planned or unplanned political setbacks. In the peace-building process, confrontational narratives and deep-seated assumptions interplay negatively, causing increasingly dreadful situations. Front-line diplomats or back-channel mediators, amid the heat of war or the boiling narratives that may explode into armed conflict, find it extremely difficult, using traditional manual methods of negotiation and diplomacy, to resolve crises effectively.

However, the world is changing with the continued advent of technologies, one of which is VR (Virtual Reality). VR is now being discussed as a digital tool that could be utilized in diplomacy to provide a smart medium for conflict parties. This tool could help them at least realize the probable unfavorable results of their actions, which massively impact civilians and often stray far from their intended goals in war.

What is Virtual Reality and How it helps in Diplomacy?

Virtual Reality is a digital medium that facilitates an immersive environment, providing a dynamic and realistic experience for users. It allows them to visualize situations and observe changes or responses in the environment based on different gestures, inputs, or verbal commands.

The VR environment offers a real-time, interactive atmosphere where the system can identify various types of user inputs and immediately modify the virtual environment. Consequently, a user can change situations, locations, and scenarios to explore the potential outcomes of different actions.

Imagine peace negotiators and representatives of conflicting parties navigating through virtual environments, providing their inputs, and seeing the results compared to their goals. This could completely change the game, transforming the dynamics of an ongoing conflict or even preventing a conflict from occurring!

The 360-degree virtual environment will provide a comprehensive interactive video of the conflict, contrasting it with the goals of the parties involved, the stories and sufferings of civilians, and, of course, the destruction that neither side may have intended.

Whether used as simulation training for modern-day diplomats or in real conflicts, VR will serve as a visual frame of reference with a stronger impact on diplomats from all three sides (the mediator and the conflicting parties).

“VR has significant potential in supporting perspective taking, Conflict parties in entrenched positions don’t always understand the reality on the ground or the humanitarian consequences of their actions”

Julie Gregory, a research scientist at the Stimson Center

Virtual Reality has been used in UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) initiatives to immerse diplomats, negotiators, and decision-makers into the realities faced by refugees and displaced people. Experiencing the conditions that refugees live through can help drive more informed and compassionate decision-making.

The UN has used VR in humanitarian efforts to raise awareness about the impacts of conflict, such as the crisis in Syria or the Rohingya refugee situation. These VR experiences allow individuals to walk through conflict zones, experiencing the challenges firsthand, which can bring a more personal understanding of these complex issues to the table during peace talks or negotiations.

Organizations like the European Union and the United Nations have explored VR for training peacekeepers and diplomats, providing them with virtual scenarios that simulate high-pressure negotiation environments or conflict zones. This kind of training helps prepare individuals to deal with intense situations in the field.

Enhancing Empathy Through Perspective-Taking

One of Virtual Reality’s most intense advantages in diplomacy is its ability to foster empathy. By being in the virtual shoes of another, diplomats will be able to experience the perspectives of those they aim to represent or negotiate with. For example, Virtual Reality can simulate the unfortunate struggles of civilians in war-impacted regions, offering diplomats a 360-degree understanding of the stakes involved in their decisions. This perspective-taking is crucial for negotiations and peace-building process.

“At the German Mission, we made the experience that VR technologies present opportunities to immerse ourselves and our partners in local realities, this makes them a cost-effective way to help with timely and impactful decision-making.”

Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN in New York Thomas Zahneisen

Training in Crisis Management

Conflict resolution always needs quick thinking and emotional intelligence under stress. Virtual Reality environments can replicate high-tension situations, such as mediating between hostile parties or understanding, addressing a sudden outbreak of violence. By repeatedly practicing in these virtual settings, diplomats and peace-negotiators can strengthen their decision-making abilities, optimize communication, and maintain composure under pressure.

VR could facilitate global collaboration by allowing diplomats from different countries to train together in shared virtual spaces.

Bridging Cultural Gaps

Cultural misunderstandings and ideological rivalry are also a major source of conflict, even in diplomacy. Virtual Reality can simulate culturally diverse environments, complete with non-verbal feels, language differences, and varying negotiation strategies. This makes the participants to practice cross-cultural communication and become more familiar to subtle cultural nuances—extremely important for goal-centric diplomacy.

Constraints and Ethical Considerations

While the potential of VR in diplomacy is interesting & eye-opening, it’s not without risks. The cost of developing and maintaining high-quality simulations & environments can be extremely costly. Additionally, VR training must be designed to avoid reinforcing stereotypes or oversimplifying complex issues.

There are also ethical aspects. How does someone or some agency ensure that virtual experiences accurately reflect the realities they aim to simulate? How do we balance the need for emotional impact with the risk of causing psychological distress to the participants? Addressing these questions is extremely important for the responsible use of Virtual Reality in this field. VR is already being used for training simulations in the military, providing soldiers with virtual combat training scenarios that are both realistic and safe. It can also simulate dangerous situations to improve decision-making.

VR has countless advantageous possibilities in a conflict scenario. It is extremely exciting and intriguing to just think if the conflict parties can experience the situation from the rival’s perception. With dedicated fund, training, trust, Virtual Reality can be used to make peace or balance to the world. Virtual reality is more than just a technological new product; it’s a transformative tool for training the diplomats and negotiators for the complexities of conflict resolution, in today’s world.