Abhinav Iyer
Pronouns: he/him
Research Mentor(s): Meagan Burt
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Political Science / LSA
Program:
Authors: Abhi Iyer
Session: Session 6: 3:40 pm – 4:30 pm
Poster: 19
Abstract
Whilst the impact of international policy has been extensively analyzed and scrutinized, the manner in which delegates formulate such policy is yet to be elucidated. Delegates, similarly to politicians, are susceptible to the marionette influences of bias, subjectivity, and emotion. Concurrently, countries host biases in their relationships with other nations. Differences in power, geography, demographics, and other factors are integral to determining foreign relationships. Thus, representatives who embody their country’s principles will interact with countries unequally; that is, diplomats will interact with officials from one nation in a completely different manner than they do another. In this study, we seek to understand the differing impacts of distinct nationally-derived factors on a UN diplomat’s propensity to compliment or critique the human rights situation of other UN member states, which is shown through a textual analysis of the UN Universal Periodic Review. The factors in question range from military capacity to linguistic connection, aggregated through websites like V-Dem, Polity, and the World Bank. After the ongoing data collection stage, we expect to find certain variables that, in isolation, have a significant impact on the choice of a diplomat to critique or commend a country. The importance of such a study lies in international governmental efficiency–understanding diplomatic decision making is imperative to limiting subjectivity within councils like the United Nations, which could greatly diminish gridlock on an international scale. Furthermore, individual countries will benefit profoundly from a comprehensive knowledge on delegate and country bias, as the data presented in this study could be used in a predictive model into diplomatic behavior. Such a model would be analogous to professional sports teams watching film–there are many insights to be found in the subconscious motives of nations that could help diplomats better prepare certain rhetorical and analytical arguments in conference.
