Inter-Committee Crisis

An Inter-Committee Crisis (often abbreviated ICC) is a Model UN simulation structure where the actions of delegates in one committee directly affect the storyline and options available to delegates in another. Rather than running as a self-contained room, each committee is treated as one actor inside a larger shared world managed by a crisis staff or "backroom."

Typical pairings include a national cabinet versus an opposing cabinet (e.g., a US National Security Council against a Soviet Politburo during a Cold War scenario), a historical body paired with its adversary, or a government cabinet paired with a rebel council. Some large conferences run three- or four-way ICCs that also include a UN organ, a press corps, or a corporate board.

Mechanically, ICCs rely on a few standard tools:

• Directives passed by one committee that the crisis staff translates into events in the other room.
• Joint communiqués or diplomatic cables exchanged between chairs or designated envoys.
• Crisis updates delivered by staff that synthesize both committees' moves into a coherent narrative.
• Personal notes sent by individual delegates to counterparts or to private "portfolio" assets.

The format rewards delegates who reason about the other room's incentives rather than treating the committee as a closed system. A military directive launched without diplomatic cover can trigger retaliation; a covert operation can be exposed by the opposing cabinet's intelligence directive. Because outcomes depend on a second room delegates cannot see, information asymmetry and speed of execution become central skills.

ICCs are most common at North American collegiate conferences such as those hosted by Harvard, McGill, the University of Chicago, and UPenn, though the format has spread to high school circuits and to European and Asian conferences. They are distinct from Joint Crisis Committees (JCCs), a term sometimes used interchangeably but often referring specifically to two cabinets within a single overarching crisis.