Thinking Globally, Debating Locally

When Ciera and I get a fem motion, we immediately jump at the opportunity to discuss issues we LOVE to talk about--women's issues. Often times not discussed regularly, feminist theory and thought (thankfully) enters a lot of debates. In order to 1. improve your understanding on such an important area of thought / theory, and 2. be prepared to hit these issues respectfully and in an informed way in debate, please read the primer below w/ extra resources and some potential topics / motions! Background:  Feminism originally meant "qualities of females" and the meaning shifting in 1892 to mean equal rights for women based on the notion of equality of the sexes  Feminism encompasses two primary claims: a normative and a descriptive. The normative claim concerns how women ought be perceived and treated based on standards in society. The descriptive claim argues that women are not treated to the same standard outlined in the normative claim.  an example:  normati...

During an interview, President Trump’s personal lawyer made a profound statement that “Truth isn’t truth.”   Mr. Giuliani was attempting to argue that truths are subjective that they depend on the individuals experiencing them; the subtext, of course, is that President Trump is not guilty and is being unfairly targeted by the Mueller investigation.  In the case of the Russian probe, he argues that the Mueller investigation places Donald Trump’s word that he “didn’t talk about Flynn with Comey” against James Comey’s, former FBI director, word that he did.  Regardless of the actual facts, this discussion highlights Trumps powerful rhetoric and makes the case that Truth, for the purpose of argumentation, does not exist. President Trump seems to be unconcerned with factual evidence; instead, he builds his support around his presence. Through this process, he makes truth irrelevant. Using his position, he is able to create an alternative reality where everything he says i...

China has a very interesting relationship with Taiwan. However, the status quo is being challenged by President Trumps rhetoric. In this post, we talk about the future of the One China Policy. Resolution for today: The United States should oppose the One China Policy. Background:  Taiwan is an island nation off the coast of mainland China. Taiwan has been historically independent. Taiwan has its own government and maintains embassies around the world.  Less than 20 nations recognize the island nation of Taiwan as being distinct from mainland China.  The United States has supported the One China policy since 1979 when they switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).  The policy holds that there is only one legal government of China, located in Beijing, and that Taiwan is a breakaway territory that is still a part of China, regardless of the views of the people of the island.  For most countries, they must recogniz...

Since taking office on June 30, 2016, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has carried out a “war on drugs” that has led to the deaths of over 12,000 Filipinos to date, mostly urban poor. At least 2,555 of the killings have been attributed to the Philippine National Police. Duterte and other senior officials have instigated and incited the killings in a campaign that could amount to crimes against humanity. Background: Leading up to the election, Duterte proclaimed "All you who are into drugs, you sons of bitches, I will really kill you."  As a mayor of the southern city of Davao, where he took a pathological approach to restoring order to the city’s streets. Extrajudicial killings of suspected criminals and drug users was common practice.  He's claimed that he has personally killed drug users.  Many support his policies and believe they are necessary to secure stability.  Suspected drug users are not given due process. Yet Filipinos knew what t...

A brief intro into intersectional Feminism.

China is a better partner than the West. I agree with the statement that the continent needs a “huge infrastructure boom” that “the West is not capable nor do they have the appetite” for; thus, “infrastructure is where we need to see more Chinese involvement.” The video goes on to explain that the reason that the Chinese should be at the forefront is because over “80 million low skill manufacturing jobs” are leaving the Chinese main land. Thus, African countries need to position themselves in a way that allows them to capture these jobs. He argues that many countries, and the continent as a whole has done a poor job in building their manufacturing sectors in a way that is accessible to foreign businesses. This means that even though millions of low skill jobs are leaving China they are not going to Africa. Instead, they are going to other regions in Asia that are more suited politically and economically to host these new industries. As labor costs rise in China, more and more jobs wi...

What does it mean to be Queer? How should the LGBTQ community define themselves? All these questions answered and more! Queer theory’s origin is hard to clearly define, since it came from multiple critical and cultural contexts, including feminism, post-structuralist theory, radical movements of people of color, the gay and lesbian movements, AIDS activism, many sexual subcultural practices such as sadomasochism, and postcolonialism. Although queer theory had its beginnings in the educational sphere, the cultural events surrounding its origin also had a huge impact. Activist groups pushed back in the 1980's against the lack of government intervention after the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic. Gay activist groups like ACT-UP and Queer Nation took the lead to force attention to both the AIDS epidemic and the gay and lesbian community as a whole. These groups helped define the field with the work they did by highlighting a non-normative option to the more traditional identity politi...

The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. a Nixon aid stated that "you understand what I'm saying? We knew we couldn't make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin. And then criminalizing both heavily, we could disrupt those communities," Ehrlichman said. "We could arrest their leaders. raid their homes, break up their meetings, and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course we did." This Post will be part of a two part series on the national and international consequences of the War on Drugs. The research will be focused on the following resolution and round. The Resolution: This House would end the War on Drugs.          2017 US National's Final Round : Watch the round and read the arguments below. Background: ...

Women debaters are forced to walk a fine line between being too assertive and being too meek. Two weeks ago, I walked out of a meeting with a supervisor feeling confident that I had presented a compelling plan for the future of our organization. I was convinced that my team had done our best and I believed that our presentation had gone well. Later that week, my supervisor provided me with some feedback on my presentation. She said that I used the phrase “I think” to much and that the phrase made it look like I was unprepared and not confident with my plan.  She warned me that while she was aware that I knew my stuff, in the work force my phrasing might cause my future superiors to think that I lacked confidence. This helpful advice made me realize that my linguist style had detracted from my message. Deborah Tannen’s article “The Power of Talk: Who Gets Heard and Why” argues that groups of individuals, especially women, are often overlooked, undervalued or ignored because the...

When considering the political, economic, and cultural ailments preventing Brazil from advancing, education is one of the most important factors. The poor educational quality of Brazil's public education system prevents many students from achieving their full potential. The bullets below outline some of the main concerns with Brazilian education. Background:  Poor educational systems limit worker's skills, company needs, and stifles productivity and entrepreneurship. These educational limitations stifle economic growth.  Brazil ranks 53/65 countries based on the PISA exam.  Perhaps, the disparity between educational systems is the largest factor holding back Brazil. Its top universities are internationally recognized while its primary and secondary schools are far below standards.  Brazil spends five times more per college student than per element school individual.  This investment primarily benefits those in higher economic brackets than poorer indivi...

Despite previous initiatives to improve the American educational system, including No Child Left behind, Race to the Top, and Every Student Succeeds Act, the American education system is broken. Forbes proposes that the main reason for this degradation of the U.S. education system is because teachers are not treated like professionals. Background:  Many individuals would argue that there are certain characteristics that make good teachers --> a passion for their subject, deep knowledge on that subject, a willingness to listen to their students' needs, and a vision of what a properly education class will look like at the end of the academic year.  The largest problem with the American educational system is that it prioritizes standardized test scores above anything else. Test performance is tied to state funding and the evaluation of teachers and students.  While there is no empirical evidence to assert that standardized testing is the best indicator of knowledg...

Being a refugee is a complicated, convoluted, and lengthy process. The United States has a long history of accepting refugees fleeing conflicts. The bullets below will help outline the evolution of the U.S. system as well as provide a background for studying refugees. Background:  In 1980, the United States codified its refugee system and created a standardized mechanism for identify, securing, and resettling refugees.  The size of the program fluctuates and its set based on the President's recommendation.  Firstly, in order to qualify for refugee protections, individuals must qualify as refugees. A refugee is often confused with migrant, internally displaced person (IDP) and asylum seeker. A migrant is an individual who travels for economic opportunity. An IDP is an individual who has been moved from their home for a variety of reasons but remains within the borders of his/her host nation.  Codified in US and international law (1951 Refugee Convention), a r...

The world wants to reject violence. Is non-violence effective? Let's talk about violence and civility.

Often times debate motions ask us to consider whether a country should intervene in a humanitarian crisis. Some examples include: This House would intervene in South Sudan. This House would intervene in Syria. This House would intervene in Venezuela. This House would intervene in Myanmar. All are topics that you should consider and think about benefits/cons to intervention. However, some of the legal justification that surrounds intervention could help you formulate your argument. Below is a bit of background provided under the right to protect legal principles. Background:  Following events like Somalia, Rwanda, Kosovo, Srebrenica, and others, it is clear that the international community requires tools to think about international relations and how to intervene and when to intervene in conflicts.  The authority of the state over its citizen's is not absolute.  Sovereignty is not merely about control it is also about responsibility.  Elements of th...

Based in President Obama's shift toward Asia, the TPP was set to become the largest free trade deal in the world, encompassing nearly 40% of the global economy. For those in favor, the trade partnership would have vastly increased U.S. influence and investment abroad, increasing economic growth while creating new jobs. Those in opposition saw the shift as a move that would decrease American jobs and manufacturing. Background:  The beginning of the TPP started in 2005 when Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore initiated a trade agreement. In 2008, when President Bush showed interest in joining the agreement, that pushed other regional countries to consider as well.  The agreement became under threat in the presidential election, while Donald Trump removing the U.S. from the agreement in 2017.  The TPP includes covering tariffs, intellectual property rights, labor and environmental standards, dispute resolution mechanisms, and other aspects of trade.  The ...

Often a topic in theoretic debates, the concept of borders and what separates humanity is always contentious. But, fear not! This post is meant to provide a bit of background on the subject and give you additional resources so you can tackle any debate thrown at you! This post will focus on the benefits of an open-border world. Background: Why should me be confined to the nation state of their birth with armed guards and dangerous borders? The world is divided unequally. Economic prosperity, natural resources, investment, and closed borders on exacerbate these differences.  Wage differences highlight disparities and border discrimination. If an individual migrated from a poorer country to a wealthier one, that migrant may see a double, triple, or higher increase in wages. Many experts posit that a world without wage discrimination through legislation and open borders could double the world's GDP.  The benefits of cross-border migration are incredible for migrants, they...

In many debate rounds, the UN Security Council is often a must-know topic. This post will be a short primer and offer additional resources so that if you are ever faced with a UN or Security Council resolution...you are well armed! Background:  The UN Security Council is the United Nation's primary body for crisis-management. The UN Security Council has the ability to pass binding resolutions on the other 193 member state in an effort to maintain peace.  The structure of the council remains largely unchanged since 1946, which causes some debate among members about its efficacy and authority to establish lasting policies.  The Security Council has five permanent members--China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (P5). Any of these members can veto any resolution. The ten elected members, are not afforded a veto power. Following WWII, the U.S. and the Soviet Union were victors and established the post-war order. Along with the United Kingdom,...

Wars are shifting into the Cyber domain. One of the largest leaders in the Cyber race, Russia, continues to use its digital prowess to target and attack other smaller countries, notably Ukraine. This post will summarize some key aspects of Russia's cyber capabilities before proposing additional reading material and some practice resolutions for a debate on this topic. Ukraine has consistently struggled to provide an integrated front between governmental agencies and private sector actors against foreign cyber threats.  In 2015, the Ukrainian government failed to entice intergovernmental cooperation because the country did not view cyber attacks as a threat (they were more concerned with the Russian invasion in the East).  However, recently with NATO assistance, Ukraine has made increasing steps towards modernizing and bolstering its cyber capabilities. It created a new cyber unit aimed at deterring Russian aggression through the cyber domain.  In 2016, Ukraine ...

Like the UN Security Council, it is necessary to understand the composition and role of the United Nations for many debate rounds. One of the most important bodies besides the Security Council is the General Assembly. The UN is a platform of global leaders to debate, discussion, and argue the world's most pressing issues to develop peace and security.  The UN general assembly is the only universally representative body in the United Nations The other major bodies in the UN are the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice.  The General Assembly is designed to debate, discuss, and make recommendations on various subjects. The General Assembly has a multitude of functions including approving the UN budget.  The General Assembly has 193 member states each with a vote.  The President of the Assembly changes with each session and the current President is Maria Fernanda Espinosa Graces, Ecuador's...

Unfortunately, there are many instances of brutal dictatorships in history that have committed genocides and mass atrocities. While I have never had a debate topic on the Khmer Rouge specifically, an understanding of one of the most brutal communist regimes could improve spec knowledge and work as supporting evidence in a number of debates. After a period of civil war, the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), commonly known as the Khmer Rouge, sized control of Cambodia in April of 1975.  Characterized by the mass deaths that occurred underneath its administration, the Khmer Rouge ruled from 17 April 1975 to 7 January 1979. It was not until the establishment of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, nearly two decades later, that Ieng Sary and other leaders of the Khmer Rouge were tried for various crimes on 19 August 1979.   The Khmer Rouge killed or executed nearly 1.7 million Cambodians in support of their Regime’s policies. The aim of the Khmer R...

The U.S. Opioid Epidemic is threatening the national health and economic prosperity of the United States. Nearly 800 people die / week from opioid related overdoses and millions of Americans suffer from opiod addictions.  Experts posit that the crisis began with doctors over prescribing legal pain medications such as oxycodone, but now think that the influx of cheap drugs like fentanyl from foreign cartels exacerbated the problem.  Opioids can be divided into two main categories those that are legally manufactured and those that are illicit narcotics.  Some opioids, including oxycodone, hydrocodone, and morphine are used to treat pain and are commonly prescribed  Herion has consistently been the United States' most popular illicit narcotic. However, it wasn't until cheap drugs and an increase in production made them universally available.  Since 1999, the amount of opioid related deaths increased five-fold This epidemic contributed to the U.S.'s decl...

The increasingly dangerous and tumultuous environment in Venezuela has made it an increasingly popular debate topic. It is important to understand the issues in the region an this post will provide a background on the issue while providing some additional resources to help you be prepared for your next round! Good luck! President Maduro’s reign in Venezuela represents one of the most brutal, oppressive, and devastating humanitarian disasters in the world.  While the deplorable humanitarian situation in Venezuela is a compelling call for external action, the United States is not the actor that should lead engagement in the region.  Recently, many United States politicians, notably Marco Rubio, and Secretary General Luis Almagro for the Organization of American States have openly supported a “military option” to end the crises in the country.  While the U.S. has historically been a leader in military interventions with the desire to enact change for the better, a m...

Understanding our own politics is tricky enough, let alone another country's; however, in many debate rounds, the focus is on other systems of government. One of the most recent developments is the rise of populism in the United States and around the world. This post will focus on the rise of populism in Brazil with the most recent Presidential election. Thanks! The increasing polarization in politics is not unique to the United States, but rather, extends globally. In Brazil, there is a turning point for their internal politics.  Characterized by rampant corruption, a struggling economy, fiscal imbalances, and a terrible rate of violent crime, Brazil desperately needs good leadership to change the course of the country.  As of October 7, Brazilians will vote for nearly six hundred members of their congress and the next president of the country.  Most interestingly, the frontrunner, Jair Bolsonaro of the Social Liberal Party, is what newspapers have dubbed “the T...