MUN

Briefing Papers

During this week you will learn about how to write your country and position paper (assessment task 2).

This assessment tasks for combines (a) policy analysis (of the issue being simulated), (b) analysis of your country, and (c) taking that policy analysis and applying it to your country – a briefing paper. The role and purpose of each tasks as well as what you should cover is described by section below.

The paper should be professionally formatted and it should be written more for a professional audience than an academic one. So write concisely and clearly and use heading, sub-headings, dot points and images, graphs, tables, etc. as appropriate. References should be kept to a minimum and be done in Harvard (author, date) style, but include a full bibliography at the conclusion of the paper.

Part A: Issue Analysis

Suggested maximum word count 1,000 words The issue analysis should be written more in the style of a policy brief. These are also written for a non-academic audience and focus on diagnosing a particular situation. In many cases a policy brief will also propose recommendations, but your policy brief does not need to do this as this is done in the Country Position Paper. Your Issue Analysis should cover the following:

• Topic – brief statement of the issue being examined
• Background:
  • What is the context of the issue/problem – this could be historical, geographical, social, economic, military, etc.
  • Why has it come into focus now?
  • Who are the key stakeholders? What is their position?
• Existing actions and policy:
  • What is being already being done in terms of programs or actions?
  • Are there existing UN resolutions?
• Issues
  • What are the major issues etc. that would need to be addressed by policy or programs?
  • What has existing research found on these issue and what do they report as possible solutions?
• Conclusion
  • What are some of the potential complications to finding a way forward?

Sample Policy Briefs from Think Tanks

Mani, A., 2014,The Power of Political Voice: How Women in Politics Can Help Tackle Gender Crime, The CAGE-Chatham House Series, No. 13.

Oliver, A., 2013, [http://www.lowyinstitute.org/files/oliver_consular_conundrum_web.pdf Consular Conundrum: The Rising Demands and Diminishing Means for Assisting Australians Overseas], POLICY BRIEFS, The Lowy Institute.

Part B: Country Paper

Suggested maximum word count 750 words

This section is where you summarise what you have learned about your country and from that analyse what the most important factors are for your country in the debate about the topic to follow. As Al-Nawaz Jiwa outlines in his guide to research, position papers and writing resolutions for MUNs:

country research should encompass the economic and political systems of the country, the history and culture of the society, the demographics of the society, the geography of the country, the international and regional associations the country belongs to, and the country’s current domestic situation. Specifically, you should look for statistics that can be used to provide a general understanding as to how the country works, where the government’s power is derived from, and what role the nation plays with its regional and global community. When researching pay particular attention to measures such as GNP, foreign debt, political philosophy, type of government, internal language and religious boundaries, population density, division of the workforce, and various geographic regions. All of these factors combine to define the unique nature of the country you will representing, and will become particularly useful in the formulation of a foreign policy pertaining to the topic areas.

Al-Nawaz Jiwa, "Battlefield Earth" (Vancouver Model United Nations), available from: http://vmun.com/wp-content/uploads/Battlefield%20Earth.pdf, p.4.

The country’s military capability and trade profile are also very important factor in foreign policy considerations. Don’t forget to look at your country’s official foreign policy (see notes for sources on Week 4 Country Research) and research who your country’s allies are and which countries they have tensions in their relationship with (opponents).

Your purpose in this section is to both highlight key issues about your country (you can use images, graphs and tables – bonus marks if you create your own graphs/tables from the data sources listed under Week 4) – AND analyse the key drivers and motivators of your country relevant to the topic being debated.

Part C: Country Position Paper

Suggested maximum word count 750 words

This section of the assessment task brings together the analysis of the issue in part A with your country analysis in part B to provide a Country Position Paper. In other words, you now need to approach the topic from the perspective of the country you’re representing in the MUN.

First read, Tsai, P., 2006, Guidelines for Writing a Briefing Paper, John Hopkins University.

If you want more:

• A very detailed guide is: Eóin Young and Lisa Quinn, "Writing Effective Public Policy Papers: A Guide for Policy Advisers in Central and Eastern Europe" (Local Government Public Service Reform Initiative and Open Society Institute, 2002), available from: http://www.icpolicyadvocacy.org/sites/icpa/files/downloads/writing_effective_public_policy_papers_young_quinn.pdf
• Or have a look at Catherine Smith's course on Writing Public Policy, available from: http://core.ecu.edu/engl/smithcath/ppolicy_book/home.htm

Your analysis should cover include the headings below but the questions under each section are intended as a guide only. What you include will depend on the topic being researched.

• Executive Summary: outline the issue being discussed in the paper and its significance to your country.
• Background: this is normally where you would provide key background on the topic – given the assessment task already has this in Part A, this should be short, a few dot points. This section should include existing UN resolution.
• Issues
  • What are the key elements/issues that need to be addressed by a resolution?
  • Which of the key issues are most relevant to your country? This may be for reasons of security, economics, politics, humanitarian concerns or because it might support or challenge key principles supported by the state, e.g. non-intervention in the affairs of sovereign states). You can also note issues that are not important..
• Negotiating Strategy: who are your likely allies and opponents in the debate and what resources can you use to influence other states?
• Recommendations
  • What is the recommendation about what approach should be taken at the UN to this problem?
  • What are the implications for your country of different likely outcomes?

Part D: Bibliography

As noted above in author, date style.

Format for the Two-Page Paper

As per the MiniMUN briefing pack on the death penalty, your two-page paper that you need to post to the Wiggio site before the MUN should start with the title, the UN General Assembly Committee it’s addressed to, the country submitting the paper and the date. The paper should contain the following sub-headings: background, issues, recommendation.