NATO committee simulation
By Merle Must
The HamMUN NATO committee role-play delved into the topic of building partnerships for global crisis management. They primarily focused on the international relations with the Russian Federation. According to the chair Damjan Vinko, who studies at University of Hamburg, this is a difficult topic, because the Russian Federation is not part of NATO and cannot therefore voice its opinion as the other member states. In the same time, the cooperation with the country is both important, but also contesting as Russia’s natural resources, such as gas and rare earth minerals, play an important role in the international trading scene. The delegates also brought back the history, referring to the war with Georgia and the latest conflict in Ukraine. “We cannot forget the historical routes too, as at first, NATO was a block against the Warsaw Pact,” added Vinko.
The Russian Federation and NATO have already started to form a partnership with the developing of NATO Russia-council, but additional work is needed. The United States argued that NATO should also look the roles of NATO Russia-council over and re-establish these, if it is necessary.
Slovakia, on the other hand, saw a solution in joint military training of NATO and Russia, explaining that people who train together wouldn’t fight against each other.
“We have the same goal to fight against crisis and war, but different views how to do it. Now we also have to agree upon these,” concluded the delegate of Slovakia.
The delegate of the United States stressed the need to not only have a strong cooperation with Russia, but also with the Pacific region. This would expand the influence of NATO, she added. “If it’s not only Western alliance, it would give NATO more legitimacy,” explained the delegate.
The delegates will discuss other topics, like nature crisis management and transparency. During the end of the conference, the delegates have to form a resolution on their final decisions.
Vinko hoped that by the end of the HamMUN conference, the NATO committee would come up with resolutions establishing new and facilitating current partnerships for global crisis management. “I hope that they will find mutual agreements within realistic parameters. They should be implementable, but also take a step forward.”
The delegate of Slovak Republic, Julius Giesen, who studies at Hamburg Bucerius Law School, participated in the Model United Nations conference for the fourth, but in HamMUN for the second time. He finds it a fun, but also a useful way to practice English and negotiating skills. “It is a very great opportunity to find out how to reach the common ground,” he added.
The delegate of the United States, Franziska Riedel, who studies political and social sciences at Würzburg University in Germany, has also participated in HamMUN once and in MUN three times before. Still she found it worthwhile to return, because she enjoyed the last time. “MUN gives you authentic input of international politics,” explained Riedel. “I have learned more about international relations with MUN than in my studies.”
