BLOC POSITIONS

Bloc positions are important when it comes to negotiating and caucusing. Primarily, a country's bloc position is determined by geographic location or economic status. For example, African countries are, naturally, located in roughly the same geographic location, the African continent, and have similar economic status. Therefore, African countries fall into the African bloc. Or, the European bloc (EU) is made up of the Western European countries.

Blocs are important because it creates cohesion between particular states on issues and facilitates the negotiation process. They are also important because blocs add power to the opinions of states. For example, in the General Assembly there may be a topic about HIV/AIDS. The African state Djibouti may have an idea for a resolution that contrasts the opinion of the United States. In normal circumstances, it would be absurd for Djibouti to challenge the US. However when the opinion of Djibouti is the same opinion of the African bloc, there are now over thirty potential votes against the United State's opinion and in favor of Djibouti's. Because of this new voting power due to blocs, the US would be forced to keep negotiating with the African bloc in order to get a resolution on the floor that appeases the Western bloc (United States) and the African bloc (Djibouti).

Some states do not fall into specific blocs on certain topics. Therefore, the issue at hand will dictate who those states will want to caucus with. For example, the Ukraine is not a member of the EU, but is really trying to be. If the issue in the committee is dealing with economics, tourism, disease, education, or issues similar to these, the Ukraine will want to bloc with the EU and reflect the EU's opinions in hopes to someday soon becoming a member of the European bloc. Remember though, even while the Ukraine is caucusing with the EU in this instance, the Ukraine will still be acting in accordance with their nation's policies and not just enter the bloc agreeing to everything the other states in the bloc are saying.

It is not necessary to only caucus with the bloc of that country. And it is not necessary to stay in the same bloc for the entire conference either. However, it is important to negotiate during caucuses rather than just sitting in a chair alone. An example of using more than bloc for caucusing is with Tunisia. Tunisia is an African country located very close to Western Europe and, for all intents and purposes, is a member of the EU. Depending on the topic being debated in the committee, Tunisia may choose either the EU or African bloc when caucusing. After a while in the committee, Tunisia can act as a liaison between the blocs by going from one to the other, disseminating information between the two.

Another determining factor when figuring out which bloc a country should be in is by knowing trade partners or which country gives another country economic assistance. For example, the island of Fiji is far from a developed, superpower state. But Fiji almost always echoes the sentiments of the US because the US gives Fiji lots of economic support.

The most important thing a country should remember when determining which bloc they should caucus with is to keep in mind what that individual country's national policy is. Find the positions of other countries that have similar opinions and listen to their bloc positions. If the opinions do not share the same interests, caucus with a different bloc until a bloc is found that best serves the country's policies.