BMUN LXX SPECPOL

 Hello delegates! We hope you are enjoying your preparation for conference next weekend; below are important announcements regarding receiving assistance with research from the dais through our office hours tomorrow and Monday 2/28, in-committee expectations, and an update on position papers. Office Hours To interact with the dais and topics more prior to conference, feel free to improve your preparation by meeting with us via our online office hours tomorrow 2/26 and Monday 2/28 from 12-2 pm! Please refer to this Calendly to schedule an appointment within this time.  If you would like to meet but available slots for your time preferences are full, you can still log onto Zoom with us! Be aware that to accommodate those who scheduled their time, the dais will meet first with scheduled delegates, and any remaining time will be used to talk with those in the online waiting room. Please use this time as a tool to better engage with your research! When attending office hours, plea...

Read through this article here to aid in your research! Summary and questions are below for you to interact with in the comments. Let us know your thoughts, or any clarifying questions! Colonialism Made the Modern World. Let’s Remake It.  Approaching the topic of Decolonization is a multifaceted undertaking that does not have one simple answer. Decolonization spans many areas, from nations, to institutions, to ideas. This opinion article highlights the fact that decolonization cannot be complete until the world that was built based on colonialism has been reimagined. Something to note that this article highlights is that we should not get bogged down and lost on definitions. Decolonization used to be defined primarily as political and economic, but there has been a recent push towards cultural decolonization noted in this text as the encounter between eurocentrism vs indigenous traditions. For this debate, defining decolonization is best left to the academics, what is important is...

  Hello everyone, We hope you're as excited for BMUN LXX as we are! As you study the conflict of the Western Sahara and all the key players involved, one thing that we hoped you picked up on is the prominent role of Sahrawi women in the fight for independence against Morocco. In fact, women have often been leading the resistance and protesting Moroccan human rights abuses in many isolated cities by the berm, continuing to this day.  A prominent Sahwari activist is Fatimatou Dahwar , who spoke out against the Moroccan government during the Green March in 1975. Because of her attempts to showcase the bias of Moroccan policy and the excessive force used in the Southern Province, Dahwar was imprisoned for 16 years , released back to Laayoune only after the 1991 ceasefire was agreed upon. Even after her imprisonment, she continued hosting secret meetings and peaceful protests with several other women, demonstrating unwavering courage and loyalty to the cause .  There are cou...

 Hello delegates! As we all prepare to discuss the topic of the Western Sahara and decolonization as a whole, the dais would like to highlight the outline we expect to use throughout the weekend of conference. This, of course, may change based on our committee's procedural knowledge and the general flow of discussion, but we will hope to put into practice the following. Please attempt to frame our weekend as a general focus on how to combat neocolonialism through the procedure of Model UN - our Topic A acts as a specific case study on a currently significant historical event relating to decolonization, and as a result we will intend to focus on Topic A throughout our first three committee sessions (Friday and all of Saturday). Once discussion on the Western Sahara has drawn to a close, on Sunday the committee will look more broadly at decolonization as a whole in the world, and will attempt to create resolutions that can mitigate the lasting impacts of colonialism's history. Co...

Hello Delegates!  Here is a list of concepts you will find useful when doing your research for Topic B, Undoing Ties to Modern Colonialism . Colonialism: The practice of one country taking full or partial political control of another country and occupying it with settlers for purposes of profiting from its resources and economy. It occurs when people from one country settle in another country for the purpose of exploiting its people and natural resources. Sovereign State: A political state with a defined territory that is independently represented and administered by its own government. Such entities are not subject to or dependent on external intervention.  Neocolonialism: Method by which developing countries are controlled by developed countries without necessarily converting these subordinate nations into colonies. Indirect means of influence include, but are not limited to conditional aid, globalization, and cultural imperialism. Political Infrastructure: Refers to the...

Hello all! This post is meant to inform you all of our Office Hours availability the week of February 21st, what to do if you haven't submitted your position paper yet, and the future schedule of this blog for the remainder of the month.

Hi everyone,  Below is a list of key terms and some helpful explanations for our first topic: A Question of Western Sahara:   Green March:  a movement of over 350,000 citizens into its Southern Provinces despite militarized rebellions against SADR demonstrators “Greater Morocco” concept : An anti-decolonization movement that sees Morocco expanding its territory to encompass not only Western Sahara but also regions of Algeria and Mauritania Sand War:  Where the Morocoocan aristocracy fought for borders that would sufficiently represent what territory falls under their jurisdiction. Specifically, it was a border conflict that disputed land near the eastern border of Morocco with Alergia.  Self-determination: the right of indigenous peoples to hold claim over land and form a governing body non-self-governing territory: an area of land claimed by a government that does not have complete control over the territory it claims  Buffer zone : an expanse of dem...