- I represented the U.S. Department of State in the simulation. In regards to representing a world hegemon, we immediately dominated the committee due to our financial flexibility and playing an authority-type role.
- I felt extremely well prepared thanks to my several previous years of Model UN experience. The entire simulation was almost identical to the rules of a Model United Nations conference, therefore I was able to offer advice and assistance to those who were less prepared. After reading the paper of information about the Department of State given to us, our ultimate goal was to bring the discriminatory actions of Budan to a halt but also keep refugees out of our region. The D.O.S. definitely accomplished this goal by bringing peace to nations discussed but also acted in its own interest as much as possible. Additionally, the DOS was able to achieve these goals because of our financial and military flexibilities that the other countries were intimidated by, while the UNHCR and ARM were in need of our help.
- Something I really enjoyed about this simulation was the way it was organized. This forced the students who have never done Model UN to completely immerse themselves in finding a solution or asking the more experienced students for advice. I found that a lot of students really had to think about the whole situation and genuinely try to find a solution and even say a speech.
- The one thing I struggled with in the simulation was the battle of trying to please all countries while also having the pressure of wanting money from all sides including ARM and UNHCR. Each country wanted something different and the DOS had to serve as an authority role.
- Something that could be changed is the time frame. We did extend the discussion to three days but I still felt that it was not enough time to come to a well thought out solution. This short period made me feel like I should just settle on certain settlements and didn’t feel like I had time to further discuss in detail what the ultimate goal should be.
- I learned that in any situation given, the US is definitely under pressure to act as the world police and probably will not get away from that as long as we stand strong.
