 | Last month, the Model United Nations Team at Yale took first place in an international competition of model U.N. teams held in Heidelberg, Germany. Pictured are four of the team's members: Al Jiwa '06 of Pierson College, Samir Kaushik '03 of Saybrook College, Fang Chen '03 of Trumbull College and John Babtie '04 of Ezra Stiles College. |
Solving simulated world crises teaches students art of diplomacy
While members of the United Nations have been deadlocked on the issue of war against Iraq, a group of Yale undergraduates has proven it has a lot of clout when it comes to international diplomacy.
In conferences around the globe, the Yale students have strategized, passed resolutions and negotiated while tackling such divisive topics as the conflict between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, state-sponsored terrorism and the rebuilding of Afghanistan, and they even averted a potential global crisis resulting from U.S.-Chinese hostilities over Taiwan.
As members of the Model United Nations Team at Yale (MUNTY), the students engage in simulations of real or conceivable world scenarios while posing as delegates of U.N. member states. MUNTY has won a slew of awards at regional, national and international competitions in recent years for its diplomatic and negotiating skills -- including recognition as the "Best Delegation" in 11 of its past 17 conferences -- making it, arguably, the top collegiate Model U.N. team in the world.
A non-profit, student-run organization, MUNTY is part of the Yale International Relations Association, Inc., an undergraduate organization founded in 1969 to further the Yale community's understanding of global affairs. About 30 students -- selectively chosen on the basis of their interest in and knowledge of international relations -- are members of the team. They participate in up to four conferences a year, including the annual World Model United Nations (WorldMUN), a highly competitive event sponsored by Harvard University and held each year in a different city in the world. It draws some 900 international college-student delegates.
At the conferences, MUNTY members are assigned to represent U.N. member states as delegates or foreign dignitaries of U.N. multinational bodies, organizations and special committees, such as the Security Council, the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, the Disarmament and International Security Committee, the NATO-Russia Council and the Middle East Peace Summit. As delegates, they are required to uphold the principles of the U.N.
To be effective delegates in the simulations, the undergraduates do extensive research on the country they represent, becoming familiar with its history, its domestic concerns and its foreign policy. They then draft resolutions and devise strategies just as the country's real-life U.N. delegate would. When possible, the student delegates meet with U.N. ambassadors from the countries they represent at their permanent missions in New York to gain a greater understanding of "their" country's policies.
In addition to practicing negotiating, policymaking and diplomacy, the students develop team-building, public speaking and debating skills, notes MUNTY fundraising director Samir Kaushik '03.
"Having a team dynamic and team chemistry is essential to winning regional, national or world Model United Nations conferences," says Kaushik, a Canadian native majoring in political science who has received eight Best Delegate awards with the team.
The team's skill and cohesiveness have resulted in numerous accolades for MUNTY. The team came in first place in the WorldMUN held in Heidelberg, Germany, in March and won second-place honors at the WorldMUN in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, the previous year. In February, MUNTY was chosen as the best delegation at the Harvard University National Model United Nations conference. At the WorldMUN held in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2001, the team was designated as "Best Delegation," and all of the Yale delegates received the prestigious "Best Delegate" award on their respective U.N. committees -- an unprecedented achievement at the international conference.
Al Jiwa, a freshman member of the team, attributes MUNTY's success to the strong interest its members have in the issues of the world, as well their intense preparation before competitions. Prior to the conferences, team members are generally given a proposed agenda covering two or three topics of global concern, and they then write a one-page position paper describing their country's stance or policy.
"The simulations are so demanding and encompassing that if you don't have an interest in world events, you'd be lost," says Jiwa, who is also from Canada. "It certainly helps to be able to argue or debate cases, but if you don't have the knowledge about your country and an interest in the issues, you aren't going to do as well."
This is especially true in simulations of global crises, for which team members can never be prepared in advance, notes John Babtie '04, the head delegate for MUNTY, who is majoring in history. He says it is in these impromptu situations, while delegates are under fire, that they have a real opportunity to demonstrate their skills.
Kaushik experienced such a challenge at one conference when he served as the special foreign minister on the Chinese Politburo and had to confront a simulated conflict involving the Taiwanese president's visit to the United States to meet with the California governor. In this scenario, the United States' recognition of the Taiwanese president as a sovereign irked the Chinese government and led to such tension that the U.S. military moved in threateningly close to China's borders.
The date given for this simulated crisis was 2006, forcing Kaushik to envision the world of the near future.
"There was almost a war, but ultimately both countries backed off," says Kaushik, an aspiring diplomat.
Each of the MUNTY members has his or her favorite countries to represent in the U.N. simulations. Babtie, an aspiring lawyer who has won top delegate honors at more than half of the conferences he has attended, is fond of representing his native England, and also enjoys serving as a delegate from Russia. Jiwa is particularly fascinated with Oman, a country he learned much about while representing it at a high school Model U.N. Kaushik enjoys serving on NATO committees and as a delegate of the United States, a country which the members agree is one of the most challenging to represent.
"The United States is the hardest country by miles because that's where the majority of conference participants are usually from," says Babtie. "You can't make a mistake, because if you do, it will be pretty obvious to people, and can be a major embarrassment."
Team members particularly enjoy participating in MUNTY because it gives them opportunities to meet people from around the globe and share their interest in international affairs. They also can experience firsthand foreign life and culture during their travels to world conferences, which take place over about five days. The MUNTY team itself is culturally diverse; in recent years, team members have hailed from China, Pakistan, India, Germany, New Zealand, Serbia and Turkey, among other nations.
In addition to Model U.N. conferences, many MUNTY members also are engaged in three other activities that fall under the umbrella of the Yale International Relations Association: the Security Council Simulation at Yale, a collegiate Model U.N. Conference revolving around crisis simulations; the Speaker's Committee, which brings international leaders to campus; and the Yale Model United Nations Conference, which draws about 800 high school students to the University each year for foreign policy simulations.
Jiwa says that, wherever they are from, students involved in Model United Nations teams share one thing in common.
"We can all talk endlessly about policy from all these different perspectives," he comments.
The chance to meet with true-life U.N. delegates is also particularly thrilling for MUNTY members, they say.
"I've met at least 10 U.N. ambassadors through my involvement with MUNTY," says Kaushik. "Two years ago, after a talk here in the fall, the Austrian ambassador to the United Nations invited MUNTY members for tea and a tour of the U.N. His interest in our team goes to show that the MUNTY name we've built around the world is something to be reckoned with."
-- By Susan Gonzalez
T H I S
IN FOCUS: Model United Nations Team at Yale
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