Crisis Committees

Comprising a significantly larger portion of our conference than is to be traditionally expected, our crisis committees set MEDMUN apart from other conferences. By participating in a real-time crisis simulation involving chance, calculation and the execution of current events-based events, delegates are given the chance to apply their research and conflict strategies in an exciting and dynamic setting.

A small portion of our crisis simulation includes semi-crisis coordination, or the insertion of crisis elements into MEDMUN’s non-crisis committees. By employing a translator to communicate between committees, MEDMUN realistically simulates real negotiations where the interests of multiple parties are amplified and the ongoing crisis can complicate the job of our delegates at any moment.

The Crisis Committees for MEDMUN 2018 are the Suez Crisis of 1956, Kurdistan 2050, and a present-day look at the Sykes-Picot agreement in French. 

In 1956, the Suez Canal brought worlds together, linking nations and dynasties, old and new. Emerging victorious from more than 30 years of intermittent global warfare, Britain and France seem to be nearing the end of their era of global domination. The Suez Canal may prove the perfect intersection of old-world-order imperialism, the young state of Israel, and nascent nationalism in Egypt. More information to come soon. 

Below is the background guid for last years' crisis committee. The 2018 Crisis Committee background guide will be released shortly. 

The year is 2050. The geopolitical sphere of the Middle East has changed. The Islamic State is long gone, and after a bloody conflict, a Kurdish State has emerged within parts of what was once Iraq. Opposed to the strengthening Kurdish national identity, Turkey has grown into an Islamic Republic. Iran has emerged as the region’s secular, democratic power. Iran appears to back the Kurdish nation, so long as Iranian borders are not threatened. The Kurdish-Turkish border is perpetually contested, keeping tensions in the region high, and ensuring a dangerous future for the region. More information to come soon.

Le 16 mai 1916, les accords Sykes-Picot ont été signés entre la Grande Bretagne et la France, décidant le sort des pays arabes qui formaient le territoire de l’Empire Ottoman. Ils ont marqué les sphères d’influence de la Grande Bretagne et de la France dans la région.  Ces accords, qui ont été tenu secret jusqu’en 1917, ont créé des tensions dans le Moyen Orient car les frontières ont été tracées sans la consultation du monde orientale. 

Aujourd’hui, apparaît de plus en plus une volonté d’inverser ces accords, notamment de la part des peuples sans territoires comme les Palestiniens et encore même de l’Etat Islamique. En effet, en 2014, le mur de sable qui marquait la frontière des accords Sykes-Picot entre la Syrie et l’Irak a été détruit par le groupe Etat islamique. Suite à cela, le hashtag #SykesPicotOver résonna sur les réseaux sociaux, montrant une tendance générale à vouloir changer les frontières déterminées par ces accords.