UN Security Council Exercise and De-Briefing Paper
This class exercise – and
the subsequent paper (6-paged, typed de-briefing paper due per the syllabus) –
synthesizes material you have read and discussed this week with earlier
concepts we have addressed such as power, realism, decision-making, and
cooperation. It should help you draw
connections between the political theories we study in class and the practical
applications of political power as it unfolds on the international stage. The exercise also focuses on specific content
regarding the United Nations and a handful of countries to which you have been
assigned.
1 . Be sure to you have read
the selections on reserve regarding reforming the UN Security Council. An understanding of this reading is critical
to your group participation for the next class.
These are:
Jaramillo, Luis Fernando (Sept. 1998). “Conference
on Security Council Reform.”
Richard Butler (Sept./Oct. 1999). “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” Foreign Affairs.
2. In addition to this reading, you should familiarize yourself
with the basic characteristics and demographics of your assigned country. The CIA World Factbook
is a good place to start. It can be
found at: http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/. Another useful site is the homepage of the
United Nations at: http://www.un.org/. Using these sources, you will submit a
one-page, typed memorandum outlining your proposal for reforming the Security
Council, including the strengths and weaknesses of your political power status
relative to the rest of the world. This
is due
at the beginning of our next class meeting.
3. The country delegations you will face next period include up to 12 total states below (depending on our class numbers), each with at least two individuals per state:
4. At the beginning of our next class you will meet in your respective
country delegations to discuss the positive and negative aspects of your
specific state's political power status.
With this in mind, your group will then outline on a sheet of paper to be turned
in at the end of class a
proposal for reforming the Security Council.
Be sure to include your country delegation name and each of your
own names at the top of this sheet of paper.
5. After hammering out your state position, each of your country delegations
will then combine with the rest of the class as a whole (General
Assembly). Each delegation will raise
their group proposals before the rest of the students.
6. If time permits, students then will re-assemble their country
delegations to make any adjustments in their proposals. Students are also free at this time to engage
other country delegation groups in discussion, to propose counter-alternatives,
and hammer out compromise deals.
Grades on your de-briefing paper will be based upon
the ability to integrate the core concepts mentioned above, critical analysis
of these concepts, creativity, and general writing mechanics. The A de-briefing
paper meets all four criteria below, the B only three, etc. These criteria are:
1.
Well-organized, stylistically
effective, and mechanically sound (see The
Elements of Style).
2.
Outlines the main issues in
reforming the UN Security Council within the context of your state.
3.
Strong critical analysis of
core concepts, i.e. explaining why (or why not) your state had political
leverage in this exercise.
4.
Shows imagination and
creativity in individual insights.