Crisis Committees in Model UN

A crisis committee puts you in a scenario that keeps changing: instead of a fixed agenda, the crisis staff sends updates that force the room to react. You act on two tracks, through directives the room debates and votes on, and through private crisis notes you send alone in your character's name.

Updated Oct 26, 2026

  • Role seats: the five most named roles
  • Country seats: 59% of crisis committee seats

Upcoming crisis committee conferences

116 conferences

Browse all Model UN conferences

How crisis committees work in Model UN

What it is

A crisis committee is a Model UN format, not a UN body. You sit in a small group of ministers, diplomats or leaders facing an urgent event. The group is often a cabinet, a summit or a governing body rather than a UN organ, and its world can be real or invented, set in the past, present or future. You usually play one person with an agenda and powers of their own: you might hold a seat in President Kennedy's cabinet during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

How it runs in Model UN

Story time runs faster than real time: one hour of debate can stand for a month. The debate moves fast too. At Berkeley Model United Nations (BMUN), for example, the default is a perpetual moderated caucus, with the chair calling on delegate after delegate for one-minute speeches.

A directive carries sponsors and, if it is public, signatories, but none of the preambulatory clauses a resolution carries. Pass one and the staff works out how the world reacts, which may not be what you intended. Your crisis notes use your portfolio powers, the things your position lets you do: a general can move troops, an economic minister can set tariffs. Communiques carry messages to people outside the room, and press releases speak to the public of the crisis world.

Read your conference's crisis rules, because the terms shift: UCI Model UN, for example, uses crisis notes as another name for directives. Some conferences also run a joint crisis committee, where two or more committees play opposing sides of one scenario in separate rooms.

Who it suits

Crisis suits you if you think fast and write short. A rough directive that passes beats a polished one still on your notepad. It also suits you if you would rather chase your character's goals than build consensus, sometimes at other delegates' expense. If speaking up makes you nervous, consider a fictional crisis. In one council of Greek gods, the delegates who had been too shy to take the floor were talking the most by the end.

How to prepare

  1. 1

    Learn the two tracks before debate opens. Know how directives differ from crisis notes, then start sending notes early: small moves, such as requesting a briefing, tend to pay off later. The guide to crisis committees walks you through both tracks.

  2. 2

    Research your character's office. Read what that position has done in the past to work out your portfolio powers, and when a power is unclear, send the dais a note and ask.

  3. 3

    Write your position paper as a plan of action. In crisis the position paper turns into an action-oriented script. BMUN, for example, sets each crisis committee its own paper guidelines, so read yours first.

  4. 4

    Practise speaking without a script. With two minutes or less, a written-out speech tends to trip you up, so speak from bullet points and improvise. The speeches lesson in the Model UN Masterclass sets you 60 and 90 second speeches with no more than 90 seconds to prepare.

Tip

Read every crisis update closely. Updates almost always hold clues to what the staff is reacting to and what it is setting up next, and the delegates who catch them stay ahead of the room.

Crisis committee topics in Model UN

Of 682 crisis committee topics on mymun, 21% are about armed conflicts and 10% about the Cold War.

ThemeShare of topics
  1. Armed conflicts 21%

    Example: The Destiny War, 2049, Young Entrepreneurs Society Model United Nations

  2. Cold War 10%

    Example: The Cuban Revolution, 1956, European Model United Nations

  3. Revolutions and independence 4%

    Example: The Turkish War of Independence (1919-1922), Towarzystwo Edukacyjne Vizja Model United Nations

  4. Democracy and governance 4%

    Example: Private Coup of the United Nations, Leiden University Model United Nations

  5. Arms control and disarmament 3%

    Example: Sudden Coup and Nuclear Escalation in North Korea, INDMUN Winter Summit

  6. Economy and development 3%

    Example: Preventing Systemic Bank Collapse and Coordinating Bailouts, Rockford Model United Nations

  7. Cyber and AI 3%

    Example: The AI Emergency: A Worldwide Crisis, Atlas Model United Nations Global -II

  8. Future and science fiction 2%

    Example: The Year 2440: The Threat of the Past, Model of United Nations Students Association Barcelona

From 682 crisis committee topics on mymun. A topic can touch several themes.

Places named in crisis committee topics

  1. United States 4%
  2. China 3%
  3. Russia 3%
  4. Iran 3%
  5. Syria 2%
  6. Middle East 2%
  7. Taiwan 2%
  8. Lebanon 2%

Share of 682 crisis committee topics on mymun that name the place.

Recent crisis committee topics

  1. Scenario: Crisis in the Weimar Republic - 1929

    GSMUN Cyprus

  2. The Destiny War, 2049

    Young Entrepreneurs Society Model United Nations
    Armed conflictsFuture and science fiction

  3. Operation Last Star : The Collapse of the European Union

    France Model United Nation

  4. The Death of Alexander the Great

    Bonn International Model United Nations

  5. Deliberation on the US-Iran and Russia-Ukraine War

    Hearald's Objective Lateral Debate Model United Nations
    Armed conflicts

  6. The 2014 ISIS Escalation and the Camp Speicher Massacre

    Rockford Model United Nations

  7. Corporate Liability — Should the corporation be held internationally responsible for the environmental disaster?

    NOVA MUN

  8. RMS Titanic: 11:40

    RUA MUN

Crisis committee roles in Model UN

Crisis committee simulations on mymun filled about 15 seats. 59% of crisis committee seats are countries; 37% of crisis committee seat lists also name roles, most often military commanders (21%) and heads of state and government (20%).

  • Role seats: the five most named roles
  • Country seats: 59% of crisis committee seats

Roles on crisis committee seat lists

RoleShare of seat lists
  1. Military commanders21%
  2. Heads of state and government20%
  3. Ministers and cabinet members19%
  4. Business leaders12%
  5. Diplomats9%
  6. Party leaders and legislators7%
  7. Advocates and prosecutors4%
  8. Journalists4%
  9. Judges1%

Share of 808 crisis committee seat lists on mymun that name the role.

Seat mix

59% of seats are countries

37% of seat lists also name roles

Crisis Committees in Model UN: quick answers

How many delegates are in a crisis committee?

The scenario sets it: organizers write one seat for each country or character the story needs. Crisis committee simulations on mymun filled about 15 seats.

What is a directive in a crisis committee?

A short written order the whole committee debates and votes on, such as deploying troops or issuing a statement, after which the crisis staff decides how events respond. A crisis note is the private version, sent by one delegate for their own character.

Is a crisis committee good for beginners?

It suits quick thinkers, but most delegates try a slower General Assembly debate first: crisis asks for fast reactions on top of careful preparation. Our guide to crisis committees shows you what to expect.

What is the backroom in a crisis committee?

The crisis staff who run the scenario out of sight: they read every directive and crisis note, decide what happens next and announce it to the room as a crisis update.