HON-H 304 – Politics of the UN

Are you thinking about becoming a diplomat or an expert on international law? Are you hoping to study or work abroad? Do you have a strong interest in international affairs? This course will give you an opportunity to participate in a simulation of the United Nations General Assembly. Readings will focus on the origins and evolution of the UN; principal UN bodies, how they operate and what they do; who finances the UN; controversies and voting patterns in the UN; and UN activities and programs, such as peace keeping and peace enforcement, preventing weapons proliferation, facilitating economic development and promoting human rights. The centerpiece of the course will be the simulation. Participants will research and write several short papers, ranging in length from 3-8 pages each. Some of the papers will deal with the development, activities, authority, and impact of the UN. The other papers will focus on the country the student will represent in the model UN. They will analyze that country’s major foreign policy concerns, its principal economic and social problems and the chief regional or international issues that affect it. Students will also be asked to write two resolutions which their country might wish to submit for consideration by the UN General Assembly and to prepare written comments on the resolutions submitted by other participants in the simulation. There will be one or two short quizzes, but no examinations.