Stateless Actors. Director: Penina Cohen Crisis Director: Connor Currie

Transcription

1 Stateless Actors Director: Penina Cohen Crisis Director: Connor Currie

2 Letter from the Under-Secretary General Hello Delegates, I am Jake Ferrara, and I am your Undersecretary General for Crisis Committees. For the past several months, the WMHSMUN team has been working tirelessly to create innovative crisis simulations for all of you. Your Crisis directors and dais were picked with immense care, and their work was cultivated over the last five months to produce this simulation. All of your directors are easily accessible via for any questions or comments. Committees require a position paper in most cases, and these should be about two pages. your director if you have any questions about this. It is my sincere hope that all of you leave this committee enriched with the gifts of lively debate, compromise, and well-earned tiredness. When I came here almost four years ago as a high school student, I remember leaving Williamsburg with a new passion for debate that was awoken by WMHSMUN. Four years later, I am here, returning this passion to you all. I ask only one thing, that you put all of yourself into your research and debate, so you can feel the same as I once did here years ago. Best of luck, and best wishes, Jake Ferrara WM 2020 Undersecretary General for Crisis Committees WMHSMUN XXXI

3 Letter from the Director Delegates, Welcome to the Thirty-First annual William & Mary High School Model United Nations conference and the Stateless Actors committee! I am excited to see how each one of you brings a unique perspective and ideas to this unusual committee. My name is Penina Cohen. I am a sophomore and this will be my second time as a Director at WMHSMUN. I was born in San Antonio, TX, but, as the child of an Air Force officer, I have lived all over the country. During my high school career I was a member of two Model UN teams. As an active member of the International Relations Club at William & Mary I am the Logistics Director of our Conference Team and the UNA-USA Liasson. When I am not busy fulfilling my directorial duties, I am most likely doing copious amounts of reading or binge watching Netflix. On occasion you might even cash me outside, likely walking to class or the dining hall. The Stateless Actors committee is my brainchild. My Crisis Director, Connor, and I have been working hard to bring this idea to life and hopefully make your WMHSMUN experience a great one. Please me at the below address for a personal dossier of your position. I look forward to meeting all of you this November at WMHSMUN XXXI. Feel free to shoot me an if you have any questions during the prepping process. Penina Cohen Director, Stateless Actors plcohen@ .wm.edu PS: There are no position papers required for this committee.

4 Letter from the Crisis Director Dear Delegates, My name is Connor Currie and I ll be your crisis director for WMHSMUN XXXI. I m a senior here at the College of William & Mary studying International Relations. I m from Arlington, Virginia and I ve had the privilege of working in our nation s capital when I m at home during the summer in a variety of internships, including think tanks, research for an insurance firm, and a graduate school. Here at school, I m the Vice President of Model UN for the William & Mary International Relations Club. I ve had the honor of representing the club at conferences all over the country, including Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. Last year, I was afforded the opportunity to represent the school at Harvard s WorldMUN conference in Montreal. Academically, my area of focus is the Middle East, Europe, and security issues. Outside of the club, I also enjoy biking, canoeing, and watching soccer. Penina and I have been working on this ambitious concept for a crisis committee for some time and we hope you get as much benefit out of it as possible. We can only assume that your selection for this committee means you are all strong delegates and we can t wait to see what you come up with over the course of the weekend. If there s anything we can do to help, do not hesitate to reach out to myself or Penina. Best of luck to all of you! Connor Currie Crisis Director, Stateless Actors

5 Committee Overview Introduction In the words of Thomas Friedman, the world is flat. While the world is of course not literally flat, modern globalization has brought countries closer together in a way previously thought impossible. The World Trade Organization has been able to establish global trade regulations, outsourcing and technology sharing has brought economic improvement to struggling nations, and global news networks share important stories in real time as they unfold. You can go to a McDonald s in over 100 countries or get connected with someone halfway across the planet in a just few seconds. However, technology-driven globalization has an insidious side. Terrorist organizations have been able to recruit, source funding, and coordinate attacks across the world more easily than ever. The increased economic interdependence has spread to illegal industries like drugs, arms, and even humans. For the first time in history, a single individual can have an impact on a global scale while sitting at home behind their computer through hacking, leaking information, or spreading fake news. Shadowy organizations pervade cyberspace and it s still the Wild West of the 21st century out there. Committee Format The structure of this committee is a bit unusual. It will take place in an anonymous online chat room. This means that, rather than having a placard identifying each delegate s position, each placard will instead have an internet username, keeping everyone s position anonymous to the rest of the room and simulating the conditions of an internet chat room. It will be up to delegates to discover with whom they are interacting through notes and crisis actions and to, in turn, reveal or protect their own identities as it suits them. Remember, in a shadowy online chat room, you could be talking to anyone so don t believe everything you read on the internet Each user can be loosely classified as either a non-state actor, some malevolent and some benign, or someone who explicitly works against or in connection with them. Each participating delegate must the director in order to receive an individual dossier, detailing their position. Delegates will be expected to incorporate research based on their character s background and organization into their crisis notes. Additionally, delegates will be assigned a motive that should play a major part in their crisis arc.

6 Committee Overview Continued Like an ad hoc committee, topics will arise as the crisis arc progresses and delegates should be prepared for anything. So while there will not be explicit topics in this background guide or in the dossiers, everyone will have goals, motives, and responses to the evolving crisis situation. So even though there will be no defined topics, that does not mean you should come without a plan.