The United Nations was in a crisis: Elon Musk had taken control of the European Space Agency and all of its outposts in space to further the development of Starlink. Delegates to the U.N., already in a special committee discussing equitable ways to militarize outer space, discovered Musk’s plans. Hurriedly, the representatives from Japan, Germany, and Egypt came up with a way to rein in the rogue billionaire: kidnap him. Musk, ever noncompliant, hid out on the moon, took several ESA scientists hostage, and lobbed threats at the U.N. After a day-long stalemate, the delegates found a way to bring Musk safely down to Earth, regaining control of the ESA.
The diplomats negotiating in this outlandish scenario weren’t professionals, and didn’t have long and storied careers. Most of them weren’t even adults. They were high schoolers from around the world, and they’d come to Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-March for the 14th annual Yale Model United Nations Conference, Europe, looking to have a say in the future of global politics.
But even in sessions where they role-played imagined, futuristic scenarios, this year’s Model U.N. attendees couldn’t escape the present. The teen from New York who had played the role of the Egyptian delegate in the space-focused committee said it was funny that in their fictional world of outer space, which even included alien encounters, “Elon Musk is still the corrupt figure, kind of pulling the strings behind an elected body that he’s not really supposed to have control of.”
A common extracurricular for high school students with an interest in international relations, Model U.N. mirrors the procedure of real U.N. meetings. For the three-day YMUNE conference in March, hundreds of student delegates came from countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, traveling up to 6,000 miles with their schools to participate. Once there, students broke into committees, focusing on a topic of their choice for the duration of the conference.
Some students attended General Assembly (GA) committees, exploring contemporary issues, such as nuclear energy, equitable internet access, and cryptocurrencies. Model U.N. deviates from the U.N. in that it often has faster-paced “crisis” committees that involve more direct action from participants; assassination attempts and other acts of sabotage are common. Other committees at this year’s YMUNE focused on historical and fictional events, like outer space colonization or the ethical struggles in Charlotte Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. I attended a specialized committee on the Paris Commune of 1871, where I worked with other delegates to create a stable and autonomous communist government.
Delegates are expected to come to these conferences with some research done and a write-up of their assigned countries’ position. But once a committee starts, things tend to get chaotic, as teenagers in business attire fight for global influence. And this year, they were fighting for influence in the shadow cast by President Donald Trump’s “America First” brand of diplomacy.
The White House meeting heard round the world
Model U.N. trains students to be the future of international diplomacy, an objective that feels more complex than ever. This year’s YMUNE conference took place two months after Trump’s inauguration and just two weeks after his now infamous Oval Office meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump’s approach to politics spilled into many of the committees, no matter the topic, and lingered in the minds of the student delegates.
When asked about Trump’s approach to foreign policy, many of the international students I spoke with expressed concern and outrage over his treatment of Zelenskyy. A group of girls from Germany had strong opinions on the issue, saying that Trump was selfish and impeding on democracy. One of the girls called the Oval Office meeting “horrible to watch,” adding that “all [Trump] wanted to do was belittle [Zelenskyy] and make a fool of him in front of international television.”
Trump “clearly doesn’t want to work with [any] country,” she said. “He lies and says he wants to work with them, but in the end, it’s just for his own benefit.” She was aware of Elon Musk’s interaction with far-right political parties in Germany, such as the AFD, and noted it was “scary to see how such a far-right party is slowly gaining popularity in Germany.” All the German girls seemed to agree that the U.N. had a mandate to fight undue U.S. influence.
Even students who admired Trump seemed put off by the Oval Office meeting. A Brazilian student who voiced support for Trump’s “firm” approach to foreign policy and appreciated his “strong” persona said, “It’s a little bit too radical to just lash out on Zelenskyy in the White House.”
As many of the delegates at YMUNE were European, they were all too aware of Trump’s disdain for established alliances and his desire to limit military funding to Europe. A different pair of German students said they had an initial interest in some of Trump’s more moderate policies, as they were similar to reforms they would have liked to see implemented in Germany. But now, one said: “He’s quite literally going against the entire EU.”
The cloud of America First nationalism
At the same time that the space committee was negotiating with Musk over his hostages, a different group of delegates gathered in a GA committee to discuss the uses of science and technology in international development. As the delegates looked for funding to support their proposals for nuclear energy and expanded internet access, a theme emerged: They were all wary of making alliances with the United States.
According to the delegate representing Malaysia (a classmate of mine from New York City), the students representing developing nations were afraid the U.S. would try to monopolize the funding for their projects to have outsize influence over their countries. If the U.S. paid for cell towers and satellites, they reasoned, it could try to wrest control of them in the future. The delegate representing Iran remarked that the allies should quickly try to make a deal with the U.S. before Trump attaches strings to the money, seizes control of projects, and “capitalizes on all of our collaboration.”
The cloud of American nationalism hung over the room, threatening tenuous collaborations. The delegate of Malaysia told me that all the delegates were aware of a shifting world order, and were cracking jokes about current events without ever saying explicitly that Trump was the biggest threat to the success of their proposals.
Throughout the entire conference, delegates were finding that Trump wasn’t just affecting the substance of YMUNE negotiations, he was altering the style of them. Some attendees felt they were witnessing a cultural shift. The usual schmoozing between delegates trying to make alliances was turning into something more sinister, as some students took on the personas and negotiating tactics of Trump and his allies.
The positions taken by delegates in Model U.N. are just assumed for a few days. We are all essentially just playing a role. But the tactics that work for politicians in the real world also work for these delegates. Many saw strongman personas to be less palatable, but more effective, in getting peers on their side. I spoke with a girl from India who observed that many delegates this year believed they had “the power to act or behave like Trump.” She saw them “using his policies to take really radical action that we have not seen before as well,” pushing for more extreme proposals in direct contradiction of the collaborative purpose of Model U.N. She said some sessions were more about “showing your personality” than working together.
A group of girls from Franconia, Germany, also had thoughts about the way delegates’ personas were changing in response to these politicians. They sensed that delegates were becoming more entitled and assertive, and that normally collaborative committee sessions were turning into power struggles. “It’s interesting to see other delegates embody a persona that is similar to Trump,” said one of the girls, who was originally from the United Kingdom. She saw people dropping some of the refinement that negotiations are supposed to have in favor of louder and more aggressive posturing. She called this a “risky game.”
Usually in YMUNE, delegates try to balance the complexities of global politics, humanitarian crises, and the diverse perspectives of the other delegates with the goals of the country or person they are representing. Even delegates representing more politically contentious countries don’t want to make real enemies. But this year, most of the students I spoke with seemed to believe that diplomatic niceties were being lost, and that Trump was the main reason why.
Politics or Puns?
YMUNE is traditionally a place where delegate-students can build their public speaking skills, develop their ability to compromise, practice formal academic writing, and meet new people from around the world. It’s also a place where they can practice real diplomacy. I, like many students, joined Model U.N. because I care about global political issues and want to feel like I am making a difference to solve them—and because I like the idea of a career as a diplomat.
But some delegates felt the connection between Model U.N. and the real U.N. had been severed with Trump undermining the U.N.’s work. The delegate from the committee on outer space, who joined Model U.N. because he appreciated the chance to address world issues and to work toward “real change,” remarked that Model U.N. has started to feel “less like a simulation of the U.N.,” and more like a fun activity to do, influenced by the news but removed of its broader significance.
He had started to lose faith in the real U.N., too. He told me that “if a president can push aside decades of good will” as easily as Trump has, then international relations begins to feel like a “futile field.” He seemed to think that learning how to participate in real diplomacy through Model U.N. was no longer possible.
I agreed with him. During this year’s meeting, I often felt shut down in committee sessions by the kinds of delegates who like to imitate Trump’s behavior, and was treated differently by some of them because of my gender. I still care passionately about global politics, but am unsure if I will continue doing Model U.N. in college. It’s frustrating to put work into conferences and feel as though my research is pointless, that I won’t be listened to simply because I refuse to adopt the brashness of other delegates. I feel like my time is better spent addressing politics in other ways—like by writing articles.
One evening, during a break in the conference, I stepped out of the hotel where the sessions were being held to buy some food at a nearby grocery store. On my way out, I was confronted with a large crowd of students. In the middle stood a boy from Massachusetts, engaged in a spirited impression of Trump.
I fought my way to the center of the circle and introduced myself, asking for his name. “My name is Donald J. Trump,” he replied in a perfect imitation of the president’s drawl. I asked him for his stance on international policy. “No one knows international policy better than Donald Trump,” he responded. “We love policy, and we love internationals, too.” The crowd tittered. The boy absorbed the energy of his audience, growing bolder, matching the cadence of the president. “What a great question. We love these questions,” he went on.
He kept it up for a few more minutes, the audience hanging on to every word. For the moment, at least, no one seemed too concerned with what the real Trump’s policies meant for their futures. And then it was over. The crowd dispersed, meandering through the misty night back to the hotel, ready to engage in another two hours of committee sessions.