“This was a fantastic opportunity for the students, who had the chance to ‘be’ diplomats for a day. They learnt a lot about how NATO works, and how difficult it is to react to a crisis rapidly and under pressure”
Dr Barbara Zanchetta
09 April 2024
War Studies student wins award at BISA Model NATO Simulation
Maxim Visnovsky, Alex Call and Andrey Miroshniko, BA students in the Department of War Studies, represented King’s College London at the fifth annual Model NATO Simulation, organised by the British International Studies Association (BISA) in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The Minister of State for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom granted Maxim the 'most authentic delegate' award for his exceptional diplomatic skills and understanding of crisis management.
The students engaged in diplomatic exchanges with delegations from 31 UK universities, each representing a different NATO country, to gain practical insights into projects related to diplomacy, government, non-governmental organisations and the military.
Under the guidance of Dr Barbara Zanchetta, the students embarked on extensive background research to represent Slovakia at the event and immerse themselves in the roles of NATO alliance members. Their tasks included drafting official statements and formulating responses to a hypothetical crisis scenario.
This year’s simulation focused on multiple earthquakes that resulted in significant loss of life and mass displacement of populations.
Maxim was the delegate of Slovakia, while Alex and Andrey served on the esteemed Military Committee where they were tasked with agreeing to a detailed set of actions to be endorsed in a final declaration by the simulated North Atlantic Council.
“The negotiations were extraordinarily tough. As Slovakia has a new government leaning toward various Russian worldviews, we had to promote national interests very different from what other NATO Allies had wanted, despite the fact that it was 'just' a natural disaster scenario. Fortunately, our team was possibly the most effective one in transmitting relevant information from the Military Committee to the North Atlantic Council where I was sitting, so it all felt very smooth. Towards the end, I decided to pull a final fight to advance our country's interests as much as possible”
Maxim Visnovsky
More information about the Model NATO simulation here.
Photo credits: David Tett.
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Senior Lecturer