Research

Country Profile

Understanding the country you are representing is a good first step for your research and helps you contextualize information in specific policies and issues. Although this page refers to “countries,” if you are participating in a Specialized Agency, Crisis Committee, or unconventional General Assembly, you may be representing an individual or group. In this case, not all of the suggestions on this page may be applicable to you, but can inspire more targeted questions in your research.

Physical Characteristics

The physical characteristics of your country help you orient it in the global system and in relation to other countries in your committee. Think critically about how these factors affect your country’s stance on certain policies. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. What continent is your country located on? What region of the world would it be grouped with? What are the neighboring countries?

  2. What is the size of your country? How does it compare to other countries in your region? How does it compare to other countries in your committee?

  3. Is your country coastal or land-locked?

  4. What is the overall climate of your country? Does it vary widely within your country or is it consistent?

  5. Are there any important geological features? Are there any important bodies of water?

Economic Characteristics

The economic characteristics of your country indicate the health of your country’s economy and its capabilities. Your country’s economy affects domestic politics as well as your country’s place in the international arena. Think critically about how these factors affect your country’s stance on certain policies. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. What is your country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? What is your country’s GDP growth rate? What is your country’s GDP per capita?

  2. What is your country’s unemployment rate? Is this number growing or shrinking?

  3. What natural resources are available in your country?

  4. What are your country’s major exports?

  5. What are your country’s major imports? Does your country have a positive or negative trade balance? What are your country’s biggest trading partners? Is your country part of any free trade areas/agreements?

political Characteristics

Political characteristics of a country include its governing structure and current international engagements. This information will help you get a sense of your country’s capabilities on a global scene as well as its potential alliances and rivals. Think critically about how these factors affect your country’s stance on certain policies. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. What is the form of government in your country? Is it a well established government or is it relatively new? Is this form of government codified? How stable would you say that the government is?

  2. What is the level of strife within your country? Is your country currently involved in a civil war?

  3. What is the state of your country’s relationship with neighboring countries?

  4. Is your country a member of any international organizations? Is your country part of any defense alliances?

  5. Does your country have any rivals? Does your country have any enemies?

  6. What international conflicts is your country currently involved in? Is your country currently involved in any trade disputes?

  7. What is the size of your country’s military? What is the composition of it? Is your country a nuclear power?

Cultural Characteristics

Culture can be defined as a set of learned and shared behaviors that are acquired by membership in a society. The cultural characteristics of your country describe the population of your country. Demographics can have a large impact on your country’s policies, so knowing this information will give you greater insight into why your country is the way it is. Think critically about how these factors affect your country’s stance on certain policies. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. What is your country’s population? What does your country’s population pyramid look like, and what does this mean?

  2. What is the ethnic composition of your country? Are there any current or historical ethnic conflicts in your country?

  3. What is the religious composition of your country? Are there any current or historical religious conflicts in your country?

  4. What is the official language of your country? What other languages are spoken there?

  5. Are there any other significant and/or distinctive cultural features in your country?

Topic Background

Topic research will help you get a good grasp of the issues being discussed in your committee. Topic are selected by your director and introduced in your committee’s background guide. It is important to understand these issues both holistically and as they relate to your country. This page lays out a process for researching each topic at a time, again from the position of representing a country, so adapt as needed for SA/Crisis/unconventional GA’s.

The issue at hand

First, you must understand the facts of the issue at hand. It is important to understand the broader context before focusing in on the details of your country’s perspective on the topic. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. What happened? When did this happen, or is it ongoing?

  2. Who is involved? Who is impacted by the issue?

  3. What needs to be solved/fixed/addressed?

Past/Current International Action

It is also important to understand previous or current international actions on an issue, because they can provide guidance for formulating solutions. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. Has the UN acted on this issue before? Has your committee?

  2. What were the impacts of any past international actions? Would you rate them as successful or unsuccessful?

Country’s Position on the topic

In order to accurately represent your country’s interests, you must understand the topic as it directly affects your country’s domestic and international politics. This understanding will ensure that your write resolutions and endorse solutions that your country would realistically support. Some questions to consider while researching:

  1. How has this impacted your country? Did it physically impact your country? Did it economically impact your country? Did it socially impact your country?

  2. Has your country faced an issue like this in the past? What did your country do then?

  3. What is your country currently doing about this issue? Has your country issued statements or taken particular actions?

Further Information

The background guide written by your director will likely contain sets of questions meant to aid you in your research. Answering these questions can help you come up with solutions to the problems your committee is dealing with. They can also help you figure out what the most important aspects of an issue are and understand the topic more deeply.

It will be useful to have your research handy in committee sessions, either as notes or printouts and organized into a folder, notebook, or binder. Information from your country profile research will help you understand what proposed solutions are feasible (in terms of available resources) for your country. The details of your topic research will help you form detailed resolutions that are realistic for the country you are representing.

Be sure that you carefully keep track of your sources so you can include all necessary citations in your position paper. Additionally, it may be helpful to have general citations (e.g. “this poll data came from Gallup”) to back up your claims during committee sessions. Our favorite places to start researching are CIA World Factbook and United Nations Documents. It is also helpful to consult any sources your director cited in their background guide, reputable news sites, and your committee’s real-world website, if they have one.