Suggestions for solutions

Hello Delegates,

In this blogpost, I will be discussing some general suggestions towards solutions you can implement in your respective committees. Looking at your position papers, it seems you are all already on the right track and have done some great research to inform your proposed solutions, so I'd just like to highlight some things to give you an idea of what the dais hopes you address or show consideration towards in your in-committee solutions and actions. One thing to note is that for all solutions and directives, we are looking for them to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-oriented (SMART).

Military/War Solutions

This committee consists of two cabinets of politicians, military personnel, and important Spanish figures brought together for the main purpose of taking action in what will go down as one of the most important European conflicts of the 20th century. As such, this committee is quite easy to become solely a military game with both cabinets churning out directives, both private and public, with military maneuvers, troop movements, weapons production, and naval blockades all weekend. This is a wartime committee, so these kinds of directives will definitely be relevant at certain points of committee, but we would like to emphasize that the goal of our committee is not for delegates to "play war". Our goal is for you to learn about the importance and nuances of this conflict through an immersive simulation, and that means paying attention to the very important, complex, and myriad factors affecting the lives of Spanish citizens in addition to the war. As such, delegates whose solutions are solely tailored towards military action, even those whose roles are militaristic, will likely not have demonstrated an attempt to learn about the whole of the conflict that we are seeking to educate you on.

Nevertheless, like I mentioned above, these solutions will have their time and place, We also recognize delegates with military backgrounds will have portfolio powers directed towards these kinds of solutions, so they will likely be more prone to them. When choosing to engage in these solutions, our dais is looking for detail and thoughtfulness. We want military solutions that convey an understanding of the state of Spain and its geography and resources, as well as the status of both sides of the war and their desires. Abstract military decisions, such as "moving more troops to X city" are less likely to be accepted by the dais or be successful than solutions such as "move 5000 soldiers from the mixed brigades to ambush the Nationalist weapon stronghold in X city from the west, transported by the transit networks developed in the early years of the Republic." In cases where military actions by the two cabinets will be happening against each other or in contradiction, the dais will determine the success of these actions based off which cabinet had a more detailed, thoughtful, and realistic directive. 

Domestic Solutions

Spain is in a state of enormous turmoil in October, 1936. The civil war is being fought outside the doors of civilians across the nation, and many of them have joined the fighting, whether by choice or necessity. One thing we want delegates to focus on in their solutions more than military action is how you and your cabinet will respond to the needs of the people you seek to govern. The Republicans are the current legitimate government, and they have a responsibility to not only protect their citizens, but deliver on campaign promises from the Election of 1936 they have yet to fulfill, as well as solving problems that have emerged since then, like the economic crisis. If they want the people to fight for them, they will have to show them they're willing to fight for the people, and not just on the battlefield. The Nationalists, on the other hand, have something to prove to those who don't yet support them. Will they try to win them over with people-forward policies, or will they resort to the old authoritarian staple of order and stability? For both coalitions, it is essential that the solutions you as delegates produce are made with these questions, needs, and nuances in mind to ensure that winning the war doesn't just lead to another one in another two years.

An important component of this will relate to the myriad ideologies present within Spain. These ideologies do not only exist in the halls of Spain's bureaucracies and parliament, but in the hearts and minds of a lot of its citizens. These ideologies mean something to their livelihoods and identities, which is why they are willing to participate in this war to begin with. The importance and abundance of these ideologies means that domestic solutions must not just pander to abstract concepts of "fixing the economy" or "weakening the power of the church", but actual actions based of the ideologies that these solutions should stem from, such as "seizing control of industrial production facilities by the government effective the first day of January, 1937, giving previous owners a fair payment for their former assets on the condition that they shift production to weapons immediately". This will be difficult, given that so many ideologies are present in each cabinet, and that is part of the challenge that your solutions and in-committee discussion and collaboration are intended to solve.

International Relations Solutions

The international participation in this conflict is paramount to its outcome. We expect a significant focus in both public and private directives on both garnering international support and diminishing international opposition from both cabinets. Because of the level of importance of this topic, we really want to see a significant amount of thought put into these solutions. In the real version of this conflict, international aid secured by the Nationalists combined with their blocking of the little international aid the Republicans could muster was one of the determining factors in Franco's victory. Knowing how this played out in real life, we hope that in committee you will be able to come up with new ways to attract or repel foreign intervention to change the outcome of the war if you are a Republican or still ensure your victory if you are a Nationalist. These solutions, like the others, must be specific, detailed, and creative. Sending a communique to the British prime minister asking "for troops, weapons, and supplies to help defeat fascism/communism", is unlikely to sway him to break the non-intervention pact he penned and signed, but maybe some information that can make Britain realize that your coalitions victory is of urgent desire to his political agenda and British security or prosperity could make him reconsider.

This is a lot of material, but we hope that this will be helpful in getting ideas brewing in your mind for the kinds of solutions we want to see in committee. As usual, if you have any questions at all, please email jccbmunlxx@bmun.org and we will be happy to answer.

See you in less than two weeks!

Alex Plewinski