Model United Nations (2235.YR.013005.1)

General information

Type:	OBL	Curs:	2	Period:	S semester
ECTS Credits:	3 ECTS

Teaching Staff:

Group	Teacher	Department	Language
Year 2	Aleksandra Semeriak Gavrilenok	Sociedad, Política y Sostenibilidad	ENG

No specific requirements are needed for this course.

Students are expected to have a general knowledge of Politics, International Relations, and History.

3 ECTS = 75 hours of student workload

In class: 60%
Self-study: 40%

Model United Nations: Diplomatic Skills provides an entry point into international affairs, foreign policy, and the art of diplomacy. In particular, it introduces students to the functioning of the UN system, diplomacy, negotiation and related topics discussed in multilateral organisations (peace and security, human rights, use of force, sustainable development, international economics, displacement and asylum, statelessness, democracy and rule of law).

The course focuses on the art of diplomacy and its key skills: researching, public speaking, writing, negotiation, and mediation.

In addition, the course includes various skills for diplomacy and international negotiation: foreign policy and agenda setting, public speaking and legal and writing skills.

- Understanding the UN system and related multilateral organisations.
- Understanding how diplomacy works in practice: role of governments, inclusion and development of topics in the international agenda, foreign policy, and decision-making.
- Learning negotiation strategies in international affairs.
- Providing an introduction on how MUN conferences work.

1. INTRODUCTION 1. Basic concepts 2. The UN

2. THE ART OF DIPLOMACY 3. Introduction to Diplomacy 4. Foreign Policy and agenda-setting 5. Multilateral Diplomacy 6. Negotiation & mediation

3. DIPLOMATIC SKILLS 7. Researching 8. Legal: Public International Law 9. Diplomatic language: public speaking 10. Writing skills

4. MUN SIMULATION

- In class, on-campus: (i) Lectures: presentation of the concepts of the module along with case-studies. (ii) International Simulation: In groups, students will be assigned a delegation/country in a specific topic discussed within a UN organ, agency or in another international organisation or forum.
- Outside class: Individual study and teamwork.

This course comprises both formative and formally assessed components. Students may get feedback in both group and one-on-one tutorial sessions (upon demand). The teaching team will adapt the simulation process as the sessions progress to ensure that all students have an opportunity to meet key assessment requirements; in some cases, this requires influencing the flow of debate and conduct of proceedings.

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN

- Berridge, G.R. (2015) Diplomacy: Theory and Practice (5th ed.). London: Palgrave.
- Breslin J. & Rubin, J (1991) Negotiation Theory and Practice. Cambridge (MA): Harvard Law School.
- Chasek, P., (2005) "Power Politics, Diplomacy and Role Playing: Simulating the UN Security Council's Response to Terrorism.? International Studies Perspectives. 6(1). pp. 1-19.
- Cooper, A.; Heine J. & Thakur, R. (2015) The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy. Oxford: OUP.
- Griffiths, M.; O'Callaghan, T. & Roach, S. (2013) International relations: the key concepts (3rd edition). Abingdon: Routledge.
- Hodgin, G. (2011) Model UN Handbook: A Preparation for MUN Conferences. Allentown: Hamilton Books.
- Karns, M.; Mingst, K. & Stiles, K. (2015) International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance (3rd ed.). Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
- Obendorf, S. & Randerson, C. (2013). Evaluating the model United Nations, European Political Science 12 (3). 350-64
- White, N. (2016) The law of international organisations (3rd ed.) Manchester: Melland Schill Studies in International Law.

Group	Teacher	Department
Year 2	Aleksandra Semeriak Gavrilenok	Sociedad, Política y Sostenibilidad