Multilateralism and Ideational Power

Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republicof Iran, opened the Sixth Model United Nations (MUN) Simulation Exercise on24 August 2017 in Tehran. The theme of the UN Security Council Simulationthis year was the nuclear programme of the People’s Democratic Republic ofKorea (PDRK).
In his speech, Dr. Zarif first applauded the Model UN simulations held by the International Studies Journal, and mentioned that he has missed teaching international relations in an academic setting. He also mentioned that it was heartwarming for him to see so many women participants in the room, and took pride in Iranian women being interested in international relations and world politics.
Dr. Zarif also spoke about the significance of Cold War as well as the collapse of Soviet Union and the role that the UN played 30 years ago. He also emphasized that “We all need to arrive at a good, reliable,and convincing understanding of this period of transition, which was perceivedat a certain time in the past to be of a rather short period and expected – orsimply aspired to - arrive at a definitive position of unchallenged Americanglobal hegemony. Well, that hasn’t come to pass.”
He also touched base on the issue of North Korea (DPRK) and mentioned that “it is not only states that areengaged in the drama, a much larger catalog of players and actors, inclusive ofnon-state actors – falling under the general rubric of civil society - are alsoinvolved and bear on the situation.” In addition, he talked about the significance of ‘change and power’ in international relations and iterated that “power couldbe defined as increasing influence and decreasing vulnerability.”
Dr. Zarif mentioned a few historical and political events in which the issue of  power and gaining hegemony were involved. Lastly, he discussed how the Security Council failed Iran and watched in silence when Iraqis used chemical weapons on Iranians during the Iran-Iraq war.
In the end, he wished the participants success and luck in the Model UN simulation and hoped that they could “move in the direction of - hopefully – political-diplomaticresolution of a regional tension with grave consequences for international peaceand security.”