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Dear Delegates,
My name is John Kimani and I’m super-excited to be the chair of the League of Arab States WMUN 2012.
I’m a sophomore at Harvard concentrating in Government and Economics. I am from Nairobi, Kenya (the land of runners and the big five) and I’m extremely interested in international affairs. Things I’m involved in include Harvard African Students Association, Institute of Politics and a blog for the Admissions Office.
I’m particularly stoked that we will be discussing two issues that are at the forefront of world discourse on the Middle East Today: Revolutions and Democracies, and Oil Politics. The revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt were in many respects unlike any other in history, both in terms of organization and execution. It is history in the making. We have the pleasure of being part of a consortium of voices from all over the world evaluating history as it is written before our eyes. The second topic on Oil Politics provides one of the most interesting modern political and industry dynamics. It is astounding to note the profound impact oil has on policy making at every level today. This impact is even greater on Western world-Middle East foreign relations. These two areas have many commonalities and I couldn’t be happier that we are looking at both simultaneously. Granted, both areas are very dynamic and we will have to keep up with changes over the year, but that’s the beauty of it.
Hope you guys have tons of fun familiarizing yourselves with both topics and ultimately discussing them in Vancouver in March next year.
Get stoked. Vancouver will be awesome.
Sayonara,
John Kimani
Chair, League of Arab States
World Model United Nations 2012
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Topic A: Revolutions and Democracy in the Middle East
Over the last few months the Arab World has experienced a wave of revolutions seeking to bring about democratic governance. What appeared to be an isolated revolution in Tunisia gave impetus to the revolution in Egypt. The ongoing revolution in Libya has not been as successful in terms of speed and the death toll. Other countries in the region including Bahrain and Yemen have also experienced some unrest.
In the wake of the revolutions the question of what role the Arab League should be playing has arisen. Some feel that the Arab League’s response has perhaps been too little too late. After some hesitation the Arab League supported calls for the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya by the UN Security Council, but they took the back seat as NATO led the effort.
The questions we will be seeking to answer are: What power does the Arab League have? What should the official response by the Arab League be? At what juncture is it justified to interfere in the internal affairs of a member country? These questions are important because time and again the west’s ability to engender lasting peace and stability in the Middle East has come into doubt. Any effort to bring about stability in the Middle East will have to be homegrown, and the Arab League is uniquely situated to aid this process.
Finally, is democracy desirable in the Middle East? What steps can the Arab League take to bring this about? We will also be seeking to examine the Arab League’s capacity to promote democratic governance in the Middle East seeing as none of its members have a particularly high democracy index. Could this be one of the factors behind its hesitance to speak on the revolutions?
Topic B: Oil Politics
Oil is arguably the most important natural resource upon which the modern world subsists. Virtually every production process relies on oil in some way. Civil wars have been fought over it. Countries have gone to war over it. Nations have grown phenomenally rich from it. But experience has taught us that a commodity this vital does not come without controversy. The Middle East has been at the center of oil politics by virtue of being located on top of some of the largest oil fields known to man. By many counts the region accounts for more than half of the world’s oil production. We will be seeking to know what role oil has played in Middle Eastern Politics. To what extent has oil informed foreign relations between the West and the Middle East? It has often been said "Controlling oil access is a cornerstone of U.S. Middle East policy." (Mamoun Fandy, January 1, 1997 FPIF). The Gulf War perhaps provides us with a prime example of a recent war fought over oil. The financial cost at $60 billion was enormous and the death toll very high. Some have suggested that the Iraq War of 2003 may, in part, have involved oil interests.
Although we will focus on the nexus between oil and foreign policy in the Middle East, we will also be looking at how oil has informed domestic policy within individual countries in oil rich Middle East, and between countries in the region (including countries without oil reserves)? Has the Middle East benefited as much as it could from this oil? As the world seeks to move towards clean renewable energy what will the implications be for the Middle-East?