Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Territorial Sovereignty in Post-Soviet States
Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, many Soviet satellite states emerged as independent nations, with many continuing their original nation status and boundaries from the pre-Soviet era. However, for several states, independence and autonomy became difficult to achieve due to many neighboring states, global powers, and international organizations refusing to recognize their political and territorial sovereignty. In particular, disputes over territory largely drove this lack of recognition, many of which are still ongoing and have left deep ethnic and social cleavages to this day. These disputes have been classified as “frozen conflicts” due to the fact that no armed conflict is taking place, yet no peace treaties or negotiations have been made to resolve the conflict. Four prominent frozen conflicts in recent decades have occurred in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions in Georgia, the Nagorno-Karabakh region (between Armenia and Azerbaijan), Transnistria on the Moldova-Ukraine border, and Ukraine (including the Crimea and Donbus regions).
In recent years, frozen conflicts have been becoming “unfrozen,” meaning that tensions are rising again and the possibility of armed conflict is materializing. Beyond the regional scale, the continuing tensions and reemergence of armed conflict in these regions present several questions to the international community: how do these conflicts affect the shifting power dynamic in Central Asia? What precedents do these geopolitical disputes set for recognition of other separatist states? And finally, in addition to the historical and political significance of these conflicts, we must also consider the people: what are the social consequences for citizens living in these regions? Delegates should be thoughtful in their solutions, respectful towards other member states, and mindful of their country’s position as they address the political, territorial, and social implications of the issue of sovereignty in these conflicts.
Director's Letter:
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL)! My name is Kaylee Kim, and I am a sophomore at Harvard University. This year, I’m thrilled to be directing SPECPOL for the sixty-eighth session of Harvard National Model United Nations, focusing on the topic of territorial and political sovereignty in post-Soviet states.
I am originally from Alexandria, VA, but I’ve lived all over the United States, which has stoked my interests in national security and international relations. At Harvard, I am pursuing a concentration in Government with a secondary in Chinese. In 2021, I served as an Assistant Director for the Special Summit on Sustainable Development at HNMUN and an Assistant Director of Operations at HMUN (HNMUN’s high school counterpart). Currently, I am serving as the Senior Director of Design and Media Strategy at HMUN in addition to my role as the Director of SPECPOL at HNMUN. Outside of MUN, I volunteer with Harvard’s Small Claims Advisory Service, meet with fellow members of Harvard RUF, and train for Air Force ROTC. In my free time, I enjoy running, reading legal thrillers, and watching too many romantic comedies.
I’m very much looking forward to simulating SPECPOL and discussing this topic with you all at conference. While many of the ongoing conflicts in post-Soviet states are region-based, their impact has reverberated across many international relations issues in the 21st century, and they play a critical role in determining the future global power dynamic amongst current military and political superpowers. Delegates will be expected to examine issues of sovereignty critically, reflecting on the experiences of their respective countries, and also consider the role of ethnic minority communities in the process of establishing autonomy after a history of Soviet governance. Additionally, given the active status of many of these cases, it is crucial that the members of this committee adapt accordingly to new developments and address these situations in regards to the current global context as well as the historical legacies of the former Soviet Union.
At HNMUN 2022, it is important that delegates collaborate and share their insights, ideas, and solutions as we discuss the topic of sovereignty in post-Soviet states. Sovereignty has always been a critical topic in the SPECPOL committee as well as within the greater scope of international relations, and I believe that examining it through a geopolitical lens will offer unique perspectives and greater opportunities for diplomacy amongst the General Assembly’s plethora of member states. I look forward to meeting you all in February and hearing your ideas as we discuss the various political and social implications of these conflicts in the context of their current situations while also looking ahead to future developments.
All the best,
Kaylee Kim
Director of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee
Harvard National Model United Nations 2022