Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL)

APPROXIMATE COMMITTEE SIZE: 165 double delegations

The Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL) addresses a diverse range of issues, including decolonization processes, threats to political sovereignty, and peacekeeping operations. Topic A will confront the role of social media in mobilizing protests, organizing “digital revolutions,” and disseminating information during periods of political instability. Delegates will debate how social media can be incorporated into democratic decision-making and evaluate the ethical and legal implications of using such technologies to promote large-scale social change. Topic B will examine the increasing use of espionage and covert operations by states, particularly their implications for sovereignty and diplomacy. Delegates will address how espionage manifests transnationally, and how to balance upholding international law with protecting state sovereignty. 

Chairs: Mary Abi-Karam & Madeleine Crighton

TOPICS

Topic A: The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Protests 

Topic B: Countering Espionage and Covert Threats to State Sovereignty

about the chairs

Madeleine Crighton is a member of the Class of 2029 in the Walsh School of Foreign Service, majoring in International Politics with minors in English and Global Development. She is originally from Franklin, TN and loves going to as many concerts as possible. 

Madeleine began Model UN in middle school and competed at NAIMUN three times as a delegate. She previously staffed the La-La-Labor Contemporary Crisis committee at NAIMUN LXIII. For NCSC LIV, she served as the Under Secretary General for GAs and staffed NCSC LIII as a UNSC crisis analyst. She also competes on Georgetown’s Model UN team as a member of Conference Staff, and is on the Academic Programming Sub-Board for the International Relations Club.

Outside of MUN, she loves to visit all the Georgetown coffee stops and have random off-campus excursions with her friends. Additionally, she is a Delta Phi Epsilon Pre-Professional Foreign Service Sorority sister and a Blue and Gray Tour Guide Society tour guide!