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GOVT347 International Security

Security Crisis Simulation

Border Security

1. Issue Background
Borders are important because international law requires states to possess “a defined
territory” in Article 1 of the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States.
Because international law serves as the basis for state recognition, border disputes are
commonly discussed at international forums and in international courts.
Border disputes occur when two or more states disagree over possession of a territory. In
response, states may negotiate a new border or create temporary lines of control, which
serve as de facto borders not acknowledged formally under international law.

Border disputes are caused by several factors, commonly including:

o Political Power: States seek to preserve or enhance their geopolitical power and
influence and may lay claim to the same territory.
o Economic Power: Border disputes can occur when states desire to control areas
rich in natural resources or that offer economic advantages such as ports or other
developed infrastructure.
o Cultural Heritage: Border disputes may occur over religious and other cultural sites
when multiple neighboring countries have ties to the same places.
o Historical Ties: Countries may dispute borders after becoming independent, such
as after the breakup of an empire or the end of colonialism; also several countries may
claim a disputed region due to previous possession.

Border disputes, which can lead to war, also have the ability to lead to other serious
security concerns, including migrant crises, civil unrest, erosion of the rule of law, and
radicalization and growth of terror groups.

2. Simulation Overview
At the opening session, each group will have two minutes to outline its concerns and
objectives. Some ideas for your group’s opening position are provided in your Stakeholder
Profile -- feel free to incorporate or disregard these suggestions as you wish.
After all groups have given an opening statement, you will be given 20 minutes to reach out
to other participants and negotiate your positions informally. Your goal in this session
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should be to build alliances and offer strategies to find consensus with as many other
groups as possible.

When you return to the formal meeting, the Chair will recognize delegates to hear their
proposals. During this time, you should look for support. Do not spend time endlessly
debating. The goal is to find a workable solution to the crisis at hand and achieve the
means to your own security concern. Listen to what others say and adjust your proposal as
needed. The second informal session will give you some flexibility to make a deal or find
support.

The Chair will give you 20-25 minutes to come up with a resolution – or not. The final
session will be allotted for the process of negotiation the final resolution. An expert will then
review the process and outcome with you, specifically highlighting how realistic your
proposals were.

3. Delegations
The exercise will simulate an international meeting called to address a fictionalized instance
of a real world problem. There will be a Chair (United Nations Department of Political
Affairs) to call the meeting together and moderate. Each of you will be a member of a
delegation for one of the following groups:

 The Government of Mapon

 The Government of Paramandy
 Amal Tribal Delegation
 United States State Department

*Each delegation’s situation could be found in section 6.

4. Event Summary
For many peoples of the world, land is more than just an economic or a political boundary
issue; the concept of “land” is also an emotional one, associated with one’s culture,
heritage, and religion. A question policy makers often face is what to do when two peoples
lay claim to the same land.

In today’s meetings, you will be negotiating an end to the hostility along the border between
two countries: Mapon and Parmandy. There has been a build-up of troops along both sides
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of the border between Mapon’s province of Disputia, which is a disputed territory, and the
neighboring country of Parmandy. Parmandy believes Disputia belongs inside its borders.
As of right now, there is no demilitarized zone between the two countries, only a heavily
guarded fence.

Cross-border rock throwing, gunfire, and now an attack inside Disputia have taken place.
Various international organizations are scrambling to prevent a broader, armed conflict from
occurring. Your goal is to reach a peaceful, permanent resolution for Disputia while
finding means to secure your own objectives. While you negotiate with the different
stakeholders, you must balance the interests of each entity and find common ground to
build a long-lasting solution. The world’s eyes are on you as this border dispute is of key
importance to different stakeholder groups. Currently, there is no pressing humanitarian
crisis in the area.

History
A little more than half-a-century ago, the United Republic of Parmanon (URP), a multiethnic
country, separated into two democratic nations, Parmandy and Mapon, by a treaty signed
by their leaders. This treaty and the borders that were drawn from it have been recognized
internationally.

The division was based primarily on religious lines with Parmandy becoming a Parmian-
majority nation and Mapon becoming a Mapite-majority nation. In both countries religion
and politics are intertwined. In both countries, the dominant religion influences laws and
policies. Due to the crucial role that religion plays in identity in these two countries, religion
is highly politicized. It is important to note, however, that neither country has institutional
religious discrimination.

The division resulted in a formal border being drawn with the agreement of both
governments. The province of Disputia was incorporated into Mapon. This agreement was
drawn when Mapon had intimidating, superior military and economic strength. This border
was internationally recognized; however, a decade later, Parmandy claimed the province.
Parmians claim that Mapon used their strength to strongarm Parmandy into signing away
Disputia. For the last 50 years, Mapon and Parmandy have disagreed over ownership of
Disputia. There have been several outbreaks of military violence along the border over the
years, and thousands of lives have been lost. The most recent ceasefire began five years
ago, but the recent flare up threatens the ceasefire and puts lives at stake. Disputia’s
provincial capital, Alaka, is home to religious sites important to both Mapites and Parmians.
Alaka is internationally recognized as part of Mapon, but citizens of Parmandy are able to
travel there, like many other citizens of the world.

Since the division, religious tensions within Mapon have risen. Citizens of Mapon who
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practice the Parmian religion are 3 times more likely to be convicted of a crime, and are 4
times more likely to live beneath the poverty level. In a public opinion poll, 76% of Mapon
citizens believe that practitioners of Parmian are responsible for economic and social
problems, and 67% believe that the religious communities should be separated. While there
have not been any laws passed that explicitly discriminate against Parmians in Mapon,
there are widespread social, economic and political obstacles for Parmians in Mapon.

Disputia
With its ancient religious sites and resource-rich mountains, Disputia is a culturally and
economically important province. Parmandy has consistently tried to claim the entirety of
Disputia, but it chiefly wants control of Alaka, Disputia’s capital city. Located near to the
Mapon-Parmandy border, Alaka has several venerated religious sites spread throughout
the city that are important to both Parmians and Mapites. Despite the importance for both
religions, the most recent census indicates Parmian is the majority religion in Disputia, not
Mapite.

Adding to those tensions, a large area of Disputia’s land is occupied by the Amal tribe that
lives in the northern region of Disputia and practices Parmian. The original separation of
Mapon and Parmandy tore the Amal tribe apart, with most but not all of the tribe ending up
in modern-day Mapon. The Amal tribe would like Disputia to become part of Parmandy or
become independent, as tribal leaders believe that there are no opportunities for
advancement for their people under Mapite control.

The mountains of Disputia hold a wealth of natural resources, including gold, silver,
palladium, and other minerals. Mapon has a vested interest in the palladium mines in
Disputia as they are essential to their technology industries. Mapon authorities have
claimed that Parmandy is using religion as a cover to stake claims to the palladium mines.
The primary workers for these mines are members of the Amal tribe, whose skill and
expertise in this highly-specified mining is second to none.

Current Status
In the past year there has been a gradual buildup of military forces on both sides of the
border, culminating in the gunfire of earlier this year. A group of soldiers from Parmandy
opened fire across the border, killing two Mapon soldiers. The Parmandy side claimed that
the gunfire was in response to citizens of Mapon throwing rocks across the border at them.
In response, an extremist Mapite group opened fire in a Parmian place of worship in
Mapon, killing 37 innocent practitioners. Leaflets were found at the site that represented
extreme anti-Parmian views and called for the closing of borders to Parmians. In this same
horrific terror attack, three Parmian-Americans were also killed. This resulted in public
outcry in the U.S., specifically among the politically powerful, Parmian- American
community.
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In response, Parmandy has maintained that all Parmians in Disputia are now at risk. The
Parmandy military has increased the number of troops on the border and has been violating
Mapon airspace with reconnaissance drones. Mapon wishes to maintain peace, but its
leadership has sent more troops to the border region as well. Parmandy and Mapon have
comparable military forces, so this conflict could be expected to last for years and claim
thousands of lives.

Before the current tensions, Mapon and Parmandy allowed visa-free travel across the
border. However, Mapon has recently required that citizens of Parmandy apply for and
receive a visa before traveling. While Mapon is not charging for these visas, this process
makes Parmian citizens wait 6 to 9 weeks for clearance and makes it challenging for them
to visit the important religious sites in Alaka at will.

Economically, Mapon is expected to suffer because of this conflict. Tourism in Disputia, one
of the largest contributors to Mapon’s economy, has declined dramatically as governments
worldwide have issued travel warnings in recent months.

Mapon has turned to the United Nations to convene this conference after Parmandy turned
down an offer of bilateral negotiation. Parmandy, having a strong immigrant population in
the United States, has only agreed to the conference if the U.S. Department of State is
present. The U.S. has strong, strategic ties to the region with Parmandy hosting the U.S.’s
largest military base in this area of geopolitical importance. The U.S. Department of State,
whose main concern is justice for the three Parmian-American citizens killed in the strife, is
dedicated to a long-term solution. Mapon, generally distrustful of Western powers, hopes
that the international community will continue to recognize its sovereignty over Disputia,
condemn Parmandy, and demand it relinquish claims to the province.
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5. Map

6. Stakeholders

Mapon
Mapon is a democratic, Mapite-majority nation. Mapon controls Disputia, a region
also claimed by Parmandy. Disputia was granted to Mapon in a treaty signed by
former leaders of both Mapon and Parmandy during the dissolution of the URP. Its
numerous religious sites are connected to both the Parmian and Mapite religions,
and citizens of both countries have religious ties to the area. Although Mapon’s
military is as strong as Parmandy’s and could likely hold off Parmandy’s forces,
Mapon hopes to end the conflict in Disputia because the violence is harming its
economy. Mapon is, however, hesitant about Western governments’ involvement in
the situation. Mapon is somewhat insecure as it relies on established, international
recognition of its territorial integrity, including Disputia, but Mapon cannot be
absolutely confident that this recognition will continue. The Government of Mapon
hopes that the UN will act as an honest broker.
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Parmandy
Parmandy is a democratic, Parmian-majority nation. Parmandy has sought control of
Disputia, a province in Mapon, for decades. In particular, Parmandy is interested in
gaining control of Disputia’s capital city, Alaka, an important religious site for
Parmians. Parmandy is willing to use military force to achieve this goal, but it is also
open to negotiating a solution to gain control of land in Disputia. Parmandy, with
close cultural ties to the West, hopes that having the U.S. Department of State at the
conference will help them fulfill their goal. A U.S. military base of strategic
importance located on the coast of Parmandy, and Parmandy hopes to use this to
their advantage.

Amal Tribe
The Amal Tribe is a Disputia-based, Parmian-majority tribe, invited by Parmandy to
this conference to support Parmandy’s claim to Disputia. The Amal Tribe has land in
both Parmandy and Mapon but is chiefly located in Disputia. Tribal members are
instrumental in the mining of rare and precious metals in the region. The tribe would
like to see Disputia become a part of Parmandy, where the Parmian religion is
widely practiceld, or to become an independent state. Its wishes were ignored at the
time of Parmandy’s and Mapon’s independence. This desire has grown in recent
months due to the recent terror attacks and growth of Mapite extremist groups
hostile to the tribe.

United States Department of State (DOS)

The State Department leads the United States in its relationships with foreign
governments, international organizations, and the people of other countries. It aims
to promote the security, prosperity and interests of the American people around the
world. It does so by creating American jobs through support for open markets for
U.S. companies; by issuing passports and providing emergency assistance to U.S.
citizens abroad; by negotiating treaties to reduce nuclear weapons and equipping
countries to respond to their own security challenges; by helping countries with
health, food and humanitarian crises; by promoting stability, peace and human
rights; and by increasing understanding of American society and values. The United
States has several interests in resolving the conflict in Disputia. Primarily, it is
concerned with the three Parmian-American citizens whose lives were lost in an
attack in Disputia by a Mapite extremist group. Additionally, it is committed to
keeping its military base in Parmandy operational, which requires a friendly
relationship with the Government of Parmandy. Parmandy and the United States
also have strong people-to-people ties through a large Parmian-American
electorate. However, American businesses also have close ties with mining
operatives in Mapon, and conflict would hinder vital trade for the high tech industry.
In addition, U.S. tourists often visit Disputia, and estimates show that there are
possibly 2,000 Americans currently in the region. Parmandy has been calling on the
United States to pressure Mapon in Disputia, but the United States wishes to be
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impartial.

United Nations Department of Political Affairs (UNDPA)

The UNDPA works to resolve conflicts and disputes around the world. It specializes
in conflict mediation and preventive diplomacy and prides itself on promoting
international peace and security. UNDPA has an interest in maintaining the peace
within Disputia and along the border of Mapon and Parmandy.

7. Strategic Session
Devise your strategy based on the following questions:

 Whom do you represent?

 What is your main security concerns?
 How can this be secured? Who will be insecure by this?
 What are your goals you need to achieve through negotiations?
 Who can support you? Who will be in conflict with you?
 What incentives and disincentives can you offer to persuade others?
 What should be your strategy in dealing with the other parties?

Remember: There is no “right” or “wrong” outcome. This is not a debate in which you
need to win the argument; your goal is to work together to find a workable solution that
can best serve the main security concerns.

8. Sample Options

The following points are possible actions to be taken for the border security issue:

• End immediate gunfire by Mapon and Parmandy and decrease troops along the border
• Hold a referendum in Disputia to determine the wishes of the citizens
• Re-draw an internationally-recognized border
• Maintain the economic success of both countries
• Persuade Mapon to make land concessions to Parmandy (either all or a portion of
Disputia)
• Convince Parmandy to allow Mapon to maintain Disputia
• Sign a bilateral treaty that would ensure future peace between the two nations
• Create a demilitarized zone
• Re-establish the task force originally set up in the Disputia Ceasefire Agreement or form a
new task force to oversee this agreement.

Any other ideas?

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9. Fact sheet
Fact sheet on each stakeholder is posted in a separate sheet.

10. Post-simulation Assessment

The assessment survey(quiz) will be given after reaching the agreement.