Get a general idea of what is important to your government, and when relevant, the interests of the people you represent. Also, knowing your interests and what you want means knowing what is not as important to you

If you are China, city pollution may not be that important. If you are Brazil, a woman wearing religious headdresses may not be high on the agenda. If you are the UAE, a political representation may not be a priority. Knowing where you are lacking is just as important to your character as where you are “good” or “strong”.

Understanding our policy parameters can also be important when it comes to finding common dialogue with potential allies.

Political structure

The political structure is important because, as a representative of that government, you are limited by whatever limits your state employers have. As a delegate negotiating on their behalf and, whether limited by your high court and the Geneva Convention, you are bound by what they can or cannot do.

So, what type of political structure do you have? Is it a Senate? House of commons? Authoritarian dictator? Democratic People’s Republic? and how long is their term in office?

How much you take human rights, the opinions of other countries and which internal pressures influence you are all influenced by a mix of the national interest and the political structure of the country you represent.

Current political affairs

Current political affairs relate to political structure, as some countries do not care what the population think, and are strongly related to the specific interest of the day. This is an extra layer to be added over the national interest and political structure.

For example, when a populist or xenophobic party takes over a country this does not change the political structure or general national interest but does change the current political agenda.

The questions to ask yourself are Who is in? Who is out? What is on the table today? What is your stance on this specific topic issue? What other stakeholders do I need to take into account?

Examples of current political affairs:

• Earthquake
• Economic crisis
• Popular revolt
• Ebola-like virus
• Neighboring country testing weapons
• Sanctions on your country
• Trying to meet the criteria of a new union

All of these issues can be overcome and might not be a concern a year or five down the line. They can influence the national interest but usually exist alongside them as an additional layer of considerations. For some countries, current political affairs can trump national interest for a given topic. In other cases, the current political affairs don’t touch the topic discussed. However, in most cases one must have an idea of all of these when choosing the persona they will adopt for the simulation.

Breaking it down:

National interest + political structure = How much to take people’s will into consideration

Political structure + people’s will = Current political affairs impact on policy

What do I do when my country doesn’t have a clear policy?

This is one of the most asked questions of first time Model UN delegates. The answer to this is first, you should always have a policy, as well as a national interest that drives you. If you went into a discussion where you could have influence, and in some way have a stake if you say or do nothing you will be fired. Think of the Model UN simulation as a diplomatic job, wherein the best case you improve your country’s situation and at worst make sure they don’t lose as much as they could.

Example:
There was a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Ecuador on April 16, 2016. 668 people were killed, 8 missing and over 6,200 injured. 7,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged.

Learn about the topic the committee will be discussing. This usually comes in the study guide/background guide you receive from the conference. (In the cases where the topic is not clear, or the parameters of debate are unclear, check out our article on “What to do with a bad study guide”)

A good guide should give you an understanding of the issue by the end of the introduction. Others require you to read further. Sometimes you need to do your own research. However long it takes, by the of the process you should know the specifics of:
What?
Why?
How?
Where? (if relevant)
When? (if relevant)
What is expected if no one intervenes

This last one is both not obvious and especially important because the outcome of what happens if nothing is done is the justification for the policies that you would put into the resolution.

Usually, there will be a few negative outcomes to the United Nations (or non-UN committee) inactions. Learn what your country’s relation is to the issues. If there is none make an educated assumption. (See Ecuador Earthquake example above)

Make sure to frame the problem to yourself. Do so in a way that makes it relevant to you and gives you the best position to be a leader in the discussion.

Every delegate, representing every country can reach a place of prominence if they take the scenario they are given and frame it in a way that works for them. Generally, that framing will also work for many other countries allowing that block, or interest group, to have their interest represented as they solve the problem.

Read topic – frame according to the national interest – represent problem in a way that is relevant to you.

Each Model UN committee has different powers, budgets and responsibilities. The discussion you will be having can be as different between committees and the diverse topics discussed at the conference. Knowing what is the normal course of action, has precedent or is legal/illegal can give you a central place in the discussion even if you have less knowledge about the topic or feel you have a less relevant position.

When researching make sure to take time to learn how your specific UN committee works. It is a suggestion to find answers to the following questions:

What does your specific body do? (Does it send troops? Disarm? Help children? World hunger? Alternative energy?)
What is its history / major past actions it has done?
This is important because it sets precedents for what is allowed/encouraged. Is 
what you’re offering new or an extension/improvement of what was?
What is it doing now? Updated data, current projects, upcoming aspirations
What are its limitations?
Know what are your powers and what resources you can give

Where one committees ends another begins
While not always relevant, sometimes to solve the issue in your study guide you will need to utilize the resources of more than one committee. This can be done in suggestion clauses in the resolution and gets point from the chairs for being realistic, not creating a new body and showing an understanding of the system.

Once you understand your committee, think generally about which policies you would consider implementing. Sometimes, the most comprehensive policy will have a plan which involved more than one UN body. In these cases credit is given to delegates who properly utilize and integrate the abilities of the different bodies. For this reason, when researching your committee, when you find a limitation, see if you can find which other committees would complete this course of action.

UN bodies that can work together

For first time Model UN delegates, we suggest not spending too much time on this section. Your study guide will usually have the main past actions which should be enough for your first conferences. For those who are looking to challenge the most prepared delegates in the room, knowing what was done up until this point, as well as knowing the policy options recent discussion about the topic will bring significant advantages during the simulation.

Past Actions
Some past can be found when you research your committee. However, many past actions taken, relating to a specific topic, were not done but the United Nations and often the most relevant actions were done by individual countries or NGO’s. For this reason, you want to be aware of what actions had the biggest impact, regardless of who did them.

Future Policy Recommendations
The draft resolution that you, and your allies, will be writing can get inspiration from policy recommendations. These can come from the United Nations, think tanks, NGO’s and experts in the field. These recommendations can do two things. The first is to give ideas and inspiration for further policies to be built off of these. The second is to present yourself as knowledgeable in a debate. An example of using this is when other delegates bring policies that are vague or have already been done. In these cases you can use targeted policy recommendations to make your speech more effective.

For beginners

Now that you know interests, your position on the topic and what your committee can do it is time to map out who you can, and just as importantly, who you cannot work with.

The rationale for knowing the positions of other countries is that you, to adequately represent your country, will need to interact with delegates from different countries to get their support to pass a resolution together. Knowing their positions on the topic will help you predict their arguments before the debate and think of good responses. 

It is also important to have allies and opponents for the sake of quality debate and negotiation. The achievement on all sides is much greater when differences are overcome than when everyone agrees from the start. There can be no compromise if there is no clear for and against!

Generally, countries are divided by a set of values that created the “traditional” blocks found in most Model United Nations debate. These cooperations are generally formed along lines similar to those described by Samuel Huntington in his good Clash of Civilizations. His division can be seen on this map.

Other customary divisions between countries can be between large and small, rich and poor, developing and developed and democratic and authoritarian. Depending on the topic you may find more than one criteria influencing who you work with and that should be judged on a case by case basis.

If you are a first time Model UN delegate, we suggest you map your potential allies and opponents based on these general divisions. To skip to the next section click here.

If you feel you are more advanced, or feel ready to dedicate more time researching the other countries in your room, continue reading.

Almost all the delegates in the room can be potential allies for almost any policy. This does not mean everyone should join forces, as there is a lot of value to debating and discussing the issues.
When possible get a list of the other countries in the room. Divide the countries into interest-based categories relevant to the topic (or another division which makes more sense) and follow the steps below.

“Allies”

Finding That Common Ground

Learn who is “obviously” on your side. There are endless possibilities to find common ground if that is what you need. The reason to work together can be a military alliance / similar government-type / past experience / trading partner / common enemy / region / religion, etc.

When researching before the conference look at the list of countries and find those you feel you should work with but your obvious interests do not show it. Look at the information available about the country and see what links you can find. When you bring this up in speeches or lobbying time, it will almost always create a justification to work together.

“Opponents”

Learn who is “obviously” against you. Sometimes it is strategically of value to create opponents for the sake of a better discussion. In such cases, when researching, map out which countries would need to be against you, and why, to keep yourself and your policy central to the discussion.

Tip from the masters: The moment there is no disagreement between your block and another, around the policy you are looking to implement, a new disagreement, or clash, will emerge which might not have your country as a central part of it. For this reason, it is sometimes strategically of value to make sure not all sides reach a compromise a the wrong time. Sometimes it is worth planning both how and when the clashes will be resolved to keep yourself and your country at the center of the action all the way to closure of debate.

The opposition is not a bad thing

When you chose your “opponents” list them and write out what you expect their cases to be. Then, find weaknesses in their case. This can be done by learning a bit about their history and find inconsistencies that would make their stance on your side of the topic being discussed problematic and inconsistent with their policies.

Opponents need not remain opponents for the entire simulation. Sometimes the topic changes and sometimes a compromise can be found. Many enemies can be turned into allies if done right!

Model UN is a game won by consensus and while all delegates best case scenario is to be in the cabinet (resolution writers) most would still rather be in the coalition than the opposition. There is no rush to move towards everyone agreeing within the first hour, and often, taking time and proper planning will bring the best result.

Don’t forget the human element

Policy and draft resolutions will, at the end of the day, be pushed through by active delegates, not just the flag or country name. That is why advanced delegates don’t only research countries but also factor in the human element of Model UN and follow the golden rule.

Delegate ability > country

While countries are important, it is always the most proactive and competent delegates who are the ones leading the discussion and drafting the resolutions. It is those delegates to look out for and work with, or against.

If you are able to find a list of delegate names and recognize a name or institution that you know has strong delegate, they should probably get more attention when you research allies and opponents.