POL 240: Introduction to International Politics
Ten states have agreed to meet at Reed College between October 26th and 28th. These states are Britain, China, France, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, North Korea, Russia, and the USA. This conference is designed to resolve the ongoing tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program.
As this is a top-level diplomatic meeting, all delegates must be dressed in Western business attire for all meetings between the 26th and the 28th. Each delegation should have a primary cell phone contact that will be shared with other delegations so that negotiations between delegations can be arranged. All delegations must monitor their email accounts during negotiations for the same reason. All negotiations and communications should be conducted diplomatically.
All communication regarding the simulation must be recorded for the purpose of creating a historical record (from which you will be writing your papers). For this purpose, an email address has been set up for each country (StateXXX@gmail.com, where XXX is an abbreviation for your country, see below) in the simulation for all official communications with other delegations and with the head of state (who will have an email address HeadOfStateXXX@gmail.com, where XXX are the initials of the head of state). All emails to and from your head of state must be sent from this official delegation email address to the official head of state email address; all other communication will be assumed to be from spies and will be immediately discarded. These email addresses, with passwords, will be handed over to the delegation chairs during class on Monday, October 23rd, along with head of state emails. The first meeting time
No delegation member should make a concession, or promise another delegation to make a concession, without written approval from its head of state. These are obtained by sending a confidential email to the head of state (HeadOfStateXXX@gmail.com). All emails must comply with regulations. The head of state will send an email reply as quickly as possible. The initial meeting with the head of state on October 26th is listed below, along with country emails.
| Country Name | Country Email | Meeting Time, 10/26 |
| People’s Republic of China | StateCHN@gmail.com | 8:00 Eliot 216 |
| French Republic | StateFRN@gmail.com | 7:30 Eliot 207 |
| Republic of India | StateIND@gmail.com | 7:30 Eliot 216 |
| Islamic Republic of Iran | StateIRN@gmail.com | 9:00 Eliot 207 |
| Republic of Iraq | StateIRQ@gmail.com | 7:00 Eliot 207 |
| State of Israel | StateISR@gmail.com | 8:00 Eliot 207 |
| Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | StatePRK@gmail.com | 7:00 Eliot 216 |
| Russian Federation | StateRUS@gmail.com | 8:30 Eliot 207 |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | StateUKG@gmail.com | 8:30 Eliot 216 |
| United States of America | StateUSA@gmail.com | 9:00 Eliot 216 |
You must collect information about your ministry’s likely views on Iran’s nuclear program. Focus on your organization’s interests and expertise: What would your organization support? What information would it emphasize regarding Iran’s program? Then write a memorandum to your delegation chair. This memorandum, no longer than 800 words, is due no later than 8 PM, Tue, October 24th, and should address all the following questions from the perspective of your organization. Email a copy of this memorandum to 1)the head of state (HeadOfStateXXX@gmail.com) and 2)your country’s email account (StateXXX@gmail.com). This memorandum should discuss:
By 8 PM, Wed, October 25th, the delegation chair will have composed a synthesis of all the memoranda representing the coherent objectives of their country. This synthesis should be no longer than 800 words. Email a copy of this memorandum from your country’s email account (StateXXX@gmail.com) to the head of state (HeadOfStateXXX@gmail.com) and the rest of your delegation. The delegation chair must also make a five-minute presentation to the head of state and be prepared to answer questions about the state’s position.
The assignment will be passed out at the end of the simulation; you will have until 9 PM on Friday, November 3rd to complete the assignment, which will be based on the simulation. This will be an account of the negotiations and an analysis of why the negotiations ended the way they did using the theories we have studied in class. This assignment, 1200-1600 words, should be based on the negotiation record contained in email correspondences and any official documents passed by the body.
7 PM–9:30 PM: Delegations will meet with their head of state. Hard copies of the memoranda will be turned in at this time. This meeting will begin with a short (5 minute) briefing by the delegation chair for the head of state. All delegates (not just the chair) should be prepared to answer questions from the head of state regarding their state’s policies as well as their ministry’s position. The head of state will then respond to the delegation chair’s memorandum and dictate instructions for the conference. By begin of negotiations on Friday, the delegations will have arrived at a coherent negotiation objective which conforms to the head of state’s instructions.
1–2 PM and 2–3 PM: Preliminary meetings in Eliot 216 for delegations.
3 PM–4:30 PM: All delegation chairs (or chosen deputies) will present their positions in official opening statements, of no longer than 5 minutes, at the plenary meeting. IAEA Director Mohamed El Baradei will give an opening speech outlining the situation in Iran. This will give all participants the opportunity to hear the opening positions of all other delegations and their conference goals. An overhead projector will be available. Chairs are advised to bring copies of their speech for all other delegation chairs, and to send them to the other delegations via email.
4:30 PM–6 PM: Negotiations begin officially after these opening statements. Not all delegation members have to participate in all meetings, but all members should remain informed of the negotiation status at all times. We recommend that delegations hold regular debriefing sessions for their members.
6 PM–7 PM: Delegations will meet again for a second plenary session. Delegations should be prepared to refine their opening statements and indicate whether their positions have shifted for this session. Updates on world events, if necessary, will also be made at this time.
7 PM–: Delegations are expected to continue negotiating into the night.
9 AM–12 PM:Negotiations may begin as early as desired on Saturday morning, or more likely will still be continuing form the previous evening. Eliot 314 has been reserved from 9 AM for meetings.
12 PM: The first plenary session will take place in Eliot 314. All students must assemble in the meeting hall at noon for an opening plenary. Updates on world events, if necessary, will also be made at this time. From noon on Saturday until the expected last plenary of the conference (6 PM), delegations are free to continue negotiating among themselves.
2 PM: The second plenary session will take place in Eliot 314.
4 PM: The third plenary session will take place in Eliot 314. Email correspondence with the head of state ceases. The head of state will be available for personal meetings. The outcome of each meeting must be written up in a memorandum at the end of each meeting and emailed to the head of state.
6 PM: The final plenary session will take place in Eliot 314. By the end of the exercise, parties are expected to arrive at a written resolution that will be voted on. Side agreements may also be made that do not require the blessing of the entire conference. Should no text be agreed on, negotiations will have collectively failed. Delegations can decide to extend the sessions, but not beyond 10 PM on Saturday.