*********************************
There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
*********************************
Jenna JordanJenna Jordan, assistant professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Institute of Technology, was quoted in the Vox August 28 story, “Game of Thrones Season 7: Each Character’s Strategy, Ranked by Political Science.”
Excerpt:
Game of Throne's seventh season, one defined by the show’s most central characters all coming into conflict for the first time, is over. Daenerys, Jon, Cersei, Tyrion, Sansa, and all the rest spent the entire season struggling with one another for power and control over Westeros, each employing different strategies to strengthen their faction and accomplish their objectives.
Which makes the season’s end a perfect time to take stock: to assess each player’s strategy, and judge which character did the best with the tools they had available. Who played the Game of Thrones best?
This tracks with real-world statistical evidence that decapitation — meaning killing an opponent’s leader — can effectively weaken its entire force under certain circumstances. One such situation, Georgia Tech’s Jenna Jordan argues, is when the enemy has a “charismatic” leadership structure. This means that the enemy is held together by one or a handful of powerful leaders, and functions because of that person’s leadership rather than any kind of bureaucratic structure or ideological bonds.
For the full article on “Game of Thrones Season 7: Each Character’s Strategy, Ranked by Political Science,” visit Vox’s website.
