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Model United Nations Note
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Model UNIntroduction
Basic Concepts
International Relations (IR) – the discipline that studies interactions between and among
states and other actors; more broadly, the workings of the international system as a whole
● Multidisciplinary: politics, economics, history, law, sociology…
● Acquired identity after WWI
Global Governance – a set of laws, rules, or regulations designed to tackle global problems
that cannot be solved by nation-states alone
● World politics as a multi-level system (local, regional, national, global)
Actors in international affairs
● 3 Features of Actors:
1. The capacity to decide on their purposes and interests
2. The capability to mobilize necessary resources to achieve those purposes
and interests
3. Actions significant enough to influence the states’/NSAs’ relations or behavior
in the global system
● Examples
○ States – key actors in IR*
■ Montevideo Convention on Statehood (1933)
● Permanent population
● Defined territory
● Government
● Capacity to conduct IR
○ NSAs: NGOs, MNCs, IOs, TNCs, terrorist organizations, think tanks,
subnational entities, organizations led by interest groups
The UN System
History
1. Peace of Westphalia (1648): religious tolerance, diplomacy
● Principles: state sovereignty, non-intervention, legal equality of states
2. League of Nations (1920-1946)
● Causes of failure: lack of authority, membership, and decision-making
3. End of WWII (1945)
● Goals: establishment of a postwar order, tackling of peace-treaty issues,
countering the effects of war
● San Francisco Conference (1945), working on the Yalta Agreement (1945),
etc. – agreed on the Charter of the UN and the Statute of the International
Court of Justice
UN Charter Main Objectives
, ● Maintain international peace and security
● Develop friendly relations among nations
● Protect human rights
● Deliver humanitarian aid
● Promote sustainable development
● Uphold international law
Languages: English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, Russian
General Assembly
● 193 member states, 2 observers
● Voting blocks (e.g. G-77)
● Policy-making organ
● Appoints Secretary-General (with a recommendation from the UN Security Council)
● Elects non-permanent members of the UN Security Council
● Approves UN Budget (based on allocation from member states)
○ Some member states who give more funds may have certain expectations
about their influence in the UN
Security Council
● Maintains international peace and security
● The only UN organ that can enforce binding resolutions
● 5 permanent members (P5): US, China, France, Russia, and the UK
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