To get the ball rolling, here is a link to a political cartoon about US-Russian relations. First delegation to post a response gets an awesome (TBD later) prize!

Richard Hill

Headchair, UNSC

“Peace is Our Profession”

Every year we encounter confusion about the format and layout of the position paper, so to get ahead of the ball on this let me lay out the paper requirements directly. Your paper should be typed in a 12 point standard font (either Times New Roman or Arial) with 1 inch margins and a title page (just title, names, school name, and country will be fine on that). As for paper organization, it should have four clearly labeled sections:

1) Background

2) Past UN Action

3) Country Policy

4) Proposed Solutions (most important portion of the paper)

In addition, your paper should have a MLA style bibliography and cite all direct quotes and specific facts. Please refer to the topic synopsis paragraph on plaigerism if you have any questions, or feel free to post questions to this blog.

Richard Hill

Head Chair, UNSC

“Peace is our Profession”

Welcome to Security Council for 57^th Annual Session of Berkeley Model United Nations. My name is Richard Hill, and I will have the honor to serve as the Head Chair of Security Council this year. I am a senior here at Cal majoring in Political Science with a focus on International Relations and minoring in European Studies. My two vice chairs are Charlene Raman, a sophomore majoring in Public Health and minoring in Global Poverty Studies, and Jason Keovichit, an undeclared freshman. We are all very excited to have the opportunity to work through an intense crisis in Security Council this year. In order to do well in committee I would encourage you to read over the topic synopsis, research the topic studiously, and come to the conference prepared. Delegates to the Security Council have a history of being elite MUNers; my expectations for your debate skill, knowledge on the topic, and capacity to effectively and decisively act on the world stage (even if it is simulated) are high. Do not disappoint.

            This year the Security Council encompasses a five committee simulation that will be addressing a crisis situation between two opposing cabinets of fellow delegates. As a delegate you will be challenged to lead four sub-committees through the crisis, manage a deluge of information, mediate a staggering rivalry, and think critically to implement policy in a radically changing environment. As a delegate, you will be expected to coordinate with the other committee members in your 5 person delegation and wield powers of state responsibly to obtain a just resolution to any conflict. Delegations from the United States and Russia will be subject to the orders and policies of their respective cabinets. The task of this committee is daunting for a high school delegate, but do not get discouraged! Coming prepared with plenty of research, both on the particular nature of current US-Russian relations and with a firm grip on how crises between great powers have historically been settled, will help you succeed during the conference. Delegates that enthusiastically, realistically, and diplomatically participate in debate and attack the challenge at hand are most likely to be rewarded. Best of luck, delegates!

We will be using this blog to communicate topic changes, additional information, research paper feedback, and other bits of news to the rest of the committee. You will be responsible and held accountable for all information posted to this blog. In addition, posting questions or responding to our posts may earn you bonus points or special rewards come conference day, so take advantage of this great tool to get to know your head chairs. I look forward to a fun, challenging, and successful committee this year!

Richard Hill

Head Chair, UNSC

“Peace is our Profession”