TGS Model UN
Model UN, what is it
anyway?
How is a Model UN
actually run?
What will we be
debating?
Getting into the
Role
Global
Perspectives
How do I turn this
into a resolution?
What is going
to happen when we run Model UN?
Challenges and
Policy Considerations
Resources
for Research
Resources for
Research Topics
Model UN
Parliamentary Cheat Sheet
For more information see Scott Perry,
he is one of the writing instructors.
Model UN, what is it
anyway?
-
As the name implies, the Model
UN models what goes on at the United Nations. The main objective
is to learn the complexities of global governance through role-play as
UN Member States.
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Students should become aware
of the United Nations, its mission, its successes, and its failures in
order to understand how these factors will carry over into the Model
United Nations.
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The links below will help you
understand the challenge inherent in the organization.
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Please
keep in mind you will be role-playing the UN Security Council
(UNSC).
- Composed of 15 members, five of which
(US, UK, Russian Federation, China, France) are permanent members
and have veto power.
- To pass a UNSC resolution, it takes
nine (9) votes and the five permanent members must all agree to the
resolution. If one of the five permanent members vetoes the
resolution, it is destroyed. Naturally, this was much more of
an issue during the Cold War than it is now, as Russia and the U.S.
would often use this veto power to create UNSC insolvency.
- The UNSC is run by a President who
presides for a month. The United States holds this position
for the month of June, so the United States will be running our
UNSC.
- The UNSC is designed to uphold the
peace. Any issue that could cause strife in the world is up
for review by the UNSC. If fighting breaks out in an area, the
UNSC will first try to mitigate peace, but the UNSC can also use
economic sanctions and military action (Peacekeeping missions) to
uphold the peace.
- Although other UN bodies can "make
suggestions" for states to follow, the UNSC can pass resolutions
that member states ore obliged to follow.
- However, since there is no real global
police, and UNSC resolutions can be halted with a single veto,
states with power really do not have to follow these obligations
either.
- Since there is no world government,
stats agree to follow these rules and obligations, but they can back
out of them when it serves state interests. Weaker states can
be strong armed into following these rules and obligations, but for
states with more power, it really is a game of "what can you get
away with." However, most states do follow these rules or laws just
because it makes it easier on everyone.
- One critique of the UN is that the
powerful states use it to control weaker states and the states with
the most buy in to the system really have little to no power.
Moreover, stronger states may or may not see the UN or even the UNSC
as a political body they want to go through, as unilateral action
may be more in that state's interest.
How is a Model UN actually
Run?
-
Keep in mind Model UN teams
prepare for a year and then go to completion. What we are running is
designed to fit within the three weeks we have to pull this together.
Naturally, some of this will cross over easier for those of you who
debate.
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If you have done Student
Congress as a TFA or NFL event, you have a leg up here. Think of the
UNSC as a Student Congress with the President organizing the
parliamentary debate.
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Model UN can follow the UN
procedures or Robert's Rules of Order. We will be using Robert's Rules
of Order.
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Below you will find a
PowerPoint for Robert's Rules of Order, which will show you how to
carry out motions and two cheat sheets.
OK. So, I get the
organizational structure and how we will be debating as the UNSC, but I
am not sure on what we will be debating?
-
This is where you will stretch
your GT abilities and make connections between the scientific and the
political.
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Remember that the UNSC deals
with crisis that could lead to war, and it can mediate states in
conflict, encourage them to find peaceful resolutions to their
conflict through diplomacy or it can encourage them through the strong
arm of economic sanctions or UN Peacekeeping.
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If you look at the topics and
think of how is this leading to conflict that is causing war or could
cause war, you will be on the right step.
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Bother a CX debater at this
point. CX Debate trains people to take practically any subject and tie
it back into warfare. They should be able to guide you into creating a
scenario for UNSC intervention.
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For example, climate change is
an issue that affects everyone in the world; however, certain states
cause more pollution than other states. After researching climate
change, I would research China's economy and the amount of pollutants
they produce. Naturally, China will not want to adapt its industry
procedures because it is not in its immediate economic interest.
Moreover, China is trying to become a major world economic power
(assuming it is not one already) and anything that will slow it down
is not in its interest. As a member of the UNSC, you may decide that
the threats caused by climate change justify a global security threat
and your resolution can focus on placing economic sanctions on China
until it finds cleaner ways to run its industry. Please keep in mind
China has veto power! How will you get around this? That is the nature
of politics and diplomacy.
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The best examples are past
UNSC resolutions; see the link below for examples. Just remember, the
UNSC deals with global crisis and is supposed to be the one who keeps
the peace.
Getting into the Role: States
in a Self-Help World
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No matter what idealist may
want to believe, it is really is a self-help world out there. By that,
I mean that states have to help themselves, ultimately.
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There is no world government,
there are no world police, and by now, you have probably got that
lesson burned into your head. States only have to do what they are
forced to do by other states. If you are the most powerful state, you
do not have to do what others say, unless they gang up on
you.
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By now, you should have
researched your state and found what your state's interest is in
relation to the topics at hand. If you need some help, ask the UNT
Librarians to direct you toward Culture Grams, which will provide you
with a background on your state.
-
Go to the library's databases
and do some searches. Academic Search Premier is not a bad place to
start. Go into advanced search and play around with search terms. For
example, in advanced search type in your issue and in the line below
it, type your state's name. I hope that you will come up with some
hits right away.
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Also, check out LexisNexis.
You will find better hits with this than Academic Search Premier, but
it has specific search terms that can be problematic to learn. Once
you have the search terms down, this will be your best
friend.
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Databases = Good. Google =
Bad. Google will lead to many things, but good research usually is not
it. Talk with your instructors, they will rant more about why
databases are good and Google is best for finding conspiracy
theories.
Global Perspectives:
International Relations Concepts That Help You to Understand Your State
in the International System
-
There are three schools of
theory that you will see dominating International Relations (IR) at
this level. If you understand these concepts, you will understand the
way other states view the world and why they make their choices. This
means you can use their perspectives to appeal to them.
-
Below you will find brief
summaries, but please know they are brief. Use them as a starting
point.
- Realism. Sometimes this is called realpolitik, and it is
a favorite of the US Department of Defense. Realism claims that the
main concern of states is state sovereignty and survival. Morality
at the state level is different from ordinary individual morality. A
state has a duty to its citizens through each state's constitution.
However, states do not have that same duty to other states. It is
better to break international law and protect your citizens and your
state than it is to uphold international law and lose it all. This
is the paradigm shift for most students. This is why states do not
trust each other, and expect states to do what is in their interest
rather than what is in the world's best interest.
Realism
usually goes well with the economic tradition of Mercantilism, which
focuses on big industry, monopolies, and the sort of capitalist fat
cats that Adam Smith wrote against in Wealth of Nations. The
state has an interest in becoming economically self-sufficient
because economics can be used as a weapon, and a state with a strong
industrial sector can mass-produce the weapons that make great
armies even better.
Realists break politics down into a
hierarchy that puts national interest first and other issues second.
That means a strong military, secure sovereignty, and control in the
international system.
Hegemony/Hegemon. This is a concept
that is found in Realist dialog. The Hegemon is the state with the
most military power. In the self-help world, this is like being the
big dog on the block. You can do whatever you can get away with, and
that is a lot. In Balance of Power (BOP) terms, during the Cold War
we were under a bipolar world system with the U.S.S.R. and U.S.
being equals. When the U.S.S.R. fell, that left the U.S. as the only
superpower, so we are currently the Hegemon. The bad part about
being the Hegemon is that other states can feel threatened by the
Hegemon's power and can gang up to remove them. Think of it as being
a schoolyard bully. You have power as long as another bully does not
come along that is stronger or other kids simply gang up on you.
Moreover, states that want to make a name for themselves can do it
by challenging your power. The only way to survive is to stay
strong.
- Liberalism. If you read Kant or Adam Smith, you have an
idea a about what liberals are about. Liberals believe that states
are rational actors, and if we work together and act rationally, we
really can avoid war and have perpetual peace. Liberals believe that
democracy is the most peaceful form of government and that if we
spread democracy we can make the world a better
place.
Liberals are for the free market economy. A liberal
market without trade barriers is in the best interest for everyone.
Competition in the global market makes it possible for states to get
richer, buy imports cheaper, and because economic interdependence
links economies this also forces states to learn to get along in
order to economically get ahead.
Unlike Realists or
Mercantilists, Liberals do not see the world in terms of everyone
out for themselves or economics as a weapon. In fact, they view
politics and economics as different subjects and states can share in
the wealth in a political and economic sense. This school of thought
can help to explain why states that fight on political issues can
get along as trade partners. Politics can divide states, but
economics can bring them together.
The UN was created with
Liberal intentions. If we work together, we can have peace. However,
when we talk about Liberalism in IR, we are not talking about the
sort of "liberals" you hear about on Fox News. Bush's goal of making
Iraq a model for other states in the Middle East by spreading
democracy and the liberal market makes him sound a lot like a
Liberal, but still now like the sort of "liberal" that Fox news
rants about.
- Marxism/ Dependency Theory. Yes, this is the same Marx
that inspired what we think of Communism, Communism as practiced by
the U.S.S.R. As a theoretical alternative to Liberalism and Realism,
this one really lost its power after the fall of Communism. When IR
theorists speak about the fall of Communism they are talking about
the fall of the U.S.S.R. There are still Communist states out there,
and although China has liberalized over the years and gained
economically from it, it is not that Liberal. At best, China is a
Communist/Liberal hybrid.
Marxism as applied to IR focuses on
the rich states versus the poor states. The rich states need to keep
the poor states poor so they will be able to use them to stay in
power. Marxism would say the reason we invaded Iraq was for the oil,
and if we can convince the Iraqi people to buy into capitalism then
we can use the system against them and reap the energy benefits. For
Marxists, the only way to escape this deadly game is to have a
violent revolt and adopt Communism.
Dependency Theory is very
popular with several developing states, and it originally started as
a theoretical answer to why developing states can adopt Democracy
and Capitalism and still find themselves unable to pull themselves
up from the developing world into the developed world. This theory
also has a rich verses poor aspect to it, but does not involve a
violent revolution (most times). This theory is best for
understanding the states who feel burned by the Liberal/Capitalist
system.
- Look at the attached resources to get more of a perspective on
these aspects if IR theory and how they apply to how states view the
international system and their places in it.
- Use the Model UN Prep Sheet to start thinking about how your
state's needs fits within the international system, who your friends
are and why, who your enemies are and why, and how you may be able to
turn enemies into friends.
Now That I know How My State
Thinks, and What My State is Interested in, How do I Turn This into a
Resolution?
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Check out the UN Position
Paper document I have attached as a model. This is an example of a
Position Paper for the UN General Assembly (UNGA), but you can adapt
it for the UNSC.
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Again, revisit UNSC
Resolutions and steal some language and phrases from these documents.
What is Going to Happen When
We Run Model UN? Part II
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Using Robert's Rules of Order
as our framework, the President of the UNSC (United States for the
month of June) will start the session.
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States will open the floor to
resolutions and debate.
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When states call a recess,
there will be a scramble to do back room politicking so states can
further their interests.
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Not everyone will be debating
on the floor. Therefore, they will be acting as diplomats politicking
other states diplomats, running information to and from their UNSC
representative, and taking care of immediate research
needs.
Challenges and Policy
Considerations
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You really need to research UN
Peacekeeping missions and the effectiveness of sanctions. Although the
issue being debated may be in your state's interest, you may not want
the UNSC to be the agent of action.
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You may agree with the spirit
of the resolution, but the way they are arguing it may need
modification. You can modify it during debate.
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You can also add so many
modifications that no one will vote for it, which can be just as good
as veto power if you are good at it.
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Timeframe, Magnitude, and
Impact Calculus. Timeframe: Some issues are big issues, but
their impacts will happen several generations in the future. Other
issues may be more important because their impacts happen now.
Magnitude: If two issues are in conflict and one causes more
damage and destruction, the magnitude of the impacts can be a reason
to vote for or against an issue. Impact Calculus: Using
timeframe and magnitude arguments you can show how some issues matter
more. Pointing this out and using as a reason to vote for or against
something is called impact calculus.
Resources for
Research
Resources for Research
Topics
General information for all
topics
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons
Climate change
Energy for Sustainable
Development
Water Scarcity
Biotechnology and food
production
International travel and
health (avian flu)
Intellectual
property
Alternative energy
I need a little more
help!
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