In 1987, 1988 and 1989 I participated as a delegate to the National Model
United Nations, which is held in
New York City. Most sessions are, or were, held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, located above
Grand Central Station, and a short walk from the UN Building itself. Opening and plenary sessions were held in the UN building itself, using the same chairs and equipment as actual UN Diplomats. An important and well-known
diplomat serves as keynote speaker for the opening session. Delegations came from colleges and universities across the United States, but also from
Europe and
Japan.
The National Model United Nations is serious, and most schools make a good attempt to prepare. The value of the simulation in part depends upon an accurate potrayal of each country's foriegn policy for that can teach idealistic college students how hard it is to get a deal done. Some schools are very serious, including Georgetown and my own, Wright State University. During those years I had the honor to represent Venezuela, the Soviet Union and West Germany. All were on the Security Council at that time, and though they are not permanent members, both Venezuela and Germany were regular Council members. Each year, the delegation I was part of was named Outstanding Delegation, and at least one of my teammates is now part of the US State Department. Which explains the plum country assignments. In those days there was a Soviet Union and if the superpowers are played poorly, the simulation falls apart. Therefore only schools with top reuptations (eg Wright State, Georgetown, West Point) get the most important countries.
For us the selection process began with smarter students in the political science classes being encouraged to try out for the team. The candidate would enter a room full of senior UN Team members, and assigned to defend a very difficult foreign policy against the more experienced students. I was told to defend Russian arms sales in the Third World and to pretend I was an afrikaaner diplomat defending apartheid. Which proved to be fun as the debate was qute spirited, as the old team members tried not only to defeat me, but to rattle me with rapid fire questions.
Having survived that, you get your country and committe assignments and prepare. One of the UN staffers, generally a graduate student in international relations, will prepare a position paper on the topics that will debated at the each year's simulation. The question of Cyprus and nuclear disarmament were two issues I remember. These white papers were well written primers on the subject and the basic arguments to be debated.
Then you research. The nearest UN document depository was at Indiana University, so we'd pile into our cars on a Saturday morning and car pool to Bloomington. There I'd exame documents using the indexes, and if it looked at all useful, it went directly to the copier. I could read the stuff back in Dayton, prioritizing. We would read and re-read the translated speeches of our country on each of the topics at hand, until we could almost recite them. During seminar we practiced speaking and parliamentary procedure, with emphasis on the Nasty, Embarassing Question, and how to wriggle out of one. And we worked on our White Paper.
Each college delegation is expected to prepare a foreign policy white paper for the nation they are represented. The document should succinctly and accurately states the foreign policy positions of the country you are represented. Ours was edited three times. At Wright State, we not only send a copy to the NMUN, but also to the mission of the country we represented. That can pay off, when you are in New York and have your mission briefing, you're one chance to ask questions of the real people you simulate. The Venezuelan Ambassador came across our and mistook it for an internal mission document. When he discovered it had been written by a bunch of midwestern college students, our mission briefing turned into a party. Every single member of the Venezuelan UN mission was there to meet us. Including the Ambassador. They critqued our paper, answered our questions, and then we had drinks together.
That felt good!
Then the UN starts with the opening sessions, with an address by an important UN official. One year it was Brian Urqhart who is one of the world's most important peace negotiators, and his speech seemed particularly important during the Cold War.
Then you get started. The problem comes when people don't play their part properly. Early on we had a crisis in my committe, when the students playing Greece and Turkey got together and submitted a joint resolution that essentially solved the question of Cyprus.
As a Venezuelan diplomat, of course I would have been delighted that those two countries had decided to put aside ancient emnities in the name of reason. But really I was horrified, as it pushed aside the most important issue in my committee. So I approached the Greek representative and congratulated him warmly on his 'forward thinking, particularly your willingness to set aside enosis.'
He turned purple, realizing what he had done. Enosis, or unification between Cyprus and Greece is one of the central tenets of Greek foreign policy. In Greece, the issue is passionate, and disputing it constitutes fighting words. A half an hour later the accord had fallen apart, and the Greek faculty advisor personally thanked me for saving their butt. I was feeling pretty good when I finally got to the bar.
Bars deserve mention. Bars stayed open until four AM in New York. We were there, often until closing, even though we had to be in our suits and on the floors at eight AM. Lots of drinking, and even some lobbying though you could drop character . A little. You don't sleep much during the NMUN.
Another episode came the following year during a disarmament resolution. I represented the Soviet Union. This was a period of time when Mikhail Gorbachev was genuinely trying to ramp down the Cold War in order to free up some cash the Soviet economy. Plus, peaceful proposals offset the "evil empire" rhetoric Ronald Reagan constantly used to describe the Soviet Union. The Soviets had moved a long way during the previous six months. In fact, the Soviets were in actuality leading the world toward disarmament, if for no other reason than to save money.
And the United States delegation made a mistake. This often happens when college students are lobbied, they feel pressured to compromise. But diplomats are not sent out to compromise, but to represent their country. They US delegation put forward a "we will specify our arms if you specify yours" proposal. The real Reagan Administration would never have done that, and as Soviet representative I faced a problem. The Soviet Government had not made that offer, it wasn't on any table, though in one speech Gorbachev had used language suggesting that he might consider something vaguely similar. Considering the direction Russian policy was heading, I decided that the real Soviets would have taken the offer, and signed up.
The Ukraine refused to go along with me. It was too radical, though less radical than the Ukraine voting against the Soviet Union. We had a big argument, and already upset over a romantic problem, (an unrequited crush on a teammate) I challenged their faculty advisor to a debate on Soviet foreign policy. That wasn' t wise, but I turned out to be right as a few weeks later. The Soviets made virtually the same proposal I had agreed to! My faculty advisor sent Ukraine's a copy of the proposal, just to make the point. I felt vindicated and by then I had a new girlfriend.
I really enjoyed the NMUN experience. It was a chance to step outside my skin, and I learned a lot about the issues I debated, the foreign policies of other countries, and the diplomatic process. It helped train students about the reality of international politics, that it is a dirty process loaded with embedded interests and emotions.
just swing it is wrong. The best way to have fun is to choose an important country, or a smaller country with a centrist position. That way you get to lobby and write legislation. Belonging to an extremist country makes it too easy to act like a caricature.