As of March 2026, the Iranian war has had an unprecedented effect on the government, and it is also affecting the Brophy AP Comparative Government and Politics class (COGOPO). Because COGOPO is a class that encompasses both current events and core concepts of government structures, the war in Iran is becoming increasingly relevant.
According to the AP College Board, AP Comparative Government and Politics covers many topics, including regimes, governments, political and economic changes, and government responses.
When asked if this year’s AP test would change, the AP Comparative Government and Politics teacher, Mr. John Burns, replied that “this year’s AP test will not… they tell us the AP test is made a year in advance.”
Mr. Burns explains the current situation his class is in due to the war in Iran being a current event and having a direct correlation to their regime of an Islamic theocratic republic. Mr. Burns said, “I wanted our guys to focus on what happens in their government now… not necessarily a war effort, or how battles are going.”
With changes happening in the classes, students are reacting in real time to the war and to how their classes are being affected.
Mathew Hawkins ’26, a student in the AP class, notes that the curriculum has shifted in real time to address the new crisis unfolding in Iran. Hawkins points out how the class has spent significant time discussing the new Ayatollah and the tactics of Israel and the United States. To better understand the historical roots of the tension, the class recently viewed the film Argo, which Hawkins says helped students “put that in perspective on what it looks like for us to be in another conflict or very contentious mood with Iran today.”
Despite a heavy focus on the current war, the class’s main goal remains centered on the institutions and regimes themselves. Mr. Burns emphasized the difference between a “change in government,” which would involve swapping out individual leaders, and a “regime change,” which would involve a new overhaul of the country’s political institutions.
“In Iran right now, all the institutions have remained the same at this point,” Mr. Burns noted. “So now it’s only a change of government… we have to wait till this whole thing’s done to see if there’s actually going to be a regime change.”
As the conflict continues to evolve, our COGOPO classroom remains a front row seat to a wide array of new changes spanning from new textbooks to what it taught in the curriculum. The lessons learned in Mr. Burns’ class are as current as the time they are reported.
