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Nigeria SimulationNigeria is (again) debating how its political institutions should be redesigned. In this simulated constitutional convention, we will deal with three major issues: (1) What
sort of executive & legislative institutions should Nigeria have in the future? (2) What sort of electoral system(s) should be
used in voting for those offices? (3) What sort of system for subnational government should Nigeria have? All groups must make proposals on these three issues. They have the option of proposing constitutional provisions regarding other issues but are not required to do so. In this simulation, students will represent the interests of 8 major political organizations representing various racial, ethnic, and political cleavages:
Each group will be responsible for coming to the simulation with specific proposals re: issues 1-3 above which all group members are prepared to defend -- recognizing all along that they are role-playing members of their assigned organizations. In other words, students must be prepared to defend their proposals not only against criticisms from other groups, but also from criticisms from the very people and interests they represent. As moderator, I will feel free to role-play "the absent constituents" as circumstances demand. In the simulation, we will follow a strict format to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to participate. **All groups must post their complete proposals on the appropriate forum of the Blackboard discussion board by 6pm on Thursday 11/1/07.** "DAY ONE" [Friday 11/2/07]1] 16 minutes: summary of proposals from all participants by moderator (may include clarifying questions to groups from moderator) 2] 4 minutes: a vote (1 rep,1 vote) among the 8 proposals in each half of the simulation 3] 30 minutes: NEGOTIATIONS w/in & between groups re: possible amendments; counterproposals; coalitions; etc. **All groups must repost their (potentially revised) proposals on the appropriate forum of the Blackboard discussion board by 6pm on Sunday 11/4/07. If your group is making a proposal jointly with another group, please note in your posting which groups are co-sponsoring the proposal.** "DAY TWO" [Monday 11/5/07]1] 11 minutes: summary of proposals from all participants by moderator (may include clarifying questions to groups from moderator) 2] 4 minutes: a vote (1 rep,1 vote) among the 8 proposals in each half of the simulation 3] 35 minutes: NEGOTIATIONS w/in & between groups re: possible amendments; counterproposals; coalitions; etc. **All groups must repost their (potentially revised) proposals on the appropriate forum of the Blackboard discussion board by 6pm on Tuesday 11/6/07. If your group is making a proposal jointly with another group, please note in your posting which groups are co-sponsoring the proposal.** "DAY THREE" [Wednesday 11/7/07]1] 16 minutes: 1 minute per group for final amendments, speeches from each group's speaker 2] 9 minutes: a final vote (1 rep, 1 vote) to determine the results [a 2/3 majority needed for passage in each half] 3] the rest of class time will be used to discuss the results of the simulation, the ongoing process in Nigeria, & test #2 Because time is short, each person must be familiar with the general issues at stake and with his or her group's historical stance in Nigerian politics in order to make the simulation work. I do not expect any of you to do enough thinking and reading to write a term paper off the top of your head. But, I do expect everyone to think and read enough to talk thoughtfully about the issues at hand from the perspective of the organization you represent and from the perspective of Nigeria as a whole. Click here to access a template for posting the proposals on Blackboard. |
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10/25/07.
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