Foreign Policy Debate Guide

From PhiloWiki

Contents 1 The media 2 Immigration 3 Political correctness 4 Environmentalism 5 War on Terror 6 United States politics 7 European politics 8 Israeli/Palestinian conflict

The media

• Does liberal bias exist in the media?
• Was CBS trying to sway the 2004 election with the effort now known as RatherGate?
• Does the media contribute to anti-Americanism?
• Does the media contribute to anti-Semitism?

Immigration

• How should the US handle illegal immigration?

Political correctness

• Does campus life promote academic freedom of speech?
• Isms: racism, sexism, feminism
• Elitism and intellectualism
• Diversity and inclusiveness
• Sensitivity and respect
• Freedom of speech and censorship
• Are Western countries being politically correct with regard to Islam?
• Is PC a proper subset of pragmatism?

Environmentalism

• Is global warming real?
• Will the Kyoto Protocol be effective?

War on Terror

• What is the War on Terror? Is it real? Is this the proper name? Can we win? What will the world look like in 5 years? 10 years?
• Should the US have gone to war in Iraq?
• What are the future prospects of Iraq?
• Is the threat of nuclear terror real?
• Will negotiations with Iran work?
• Do we have too many/not enough civil liberties as we conduct the War on Terror?
• What will history say of George W. Bush?

United States politics

• Has the media conducted itself properly?
• Are labels meaningful? Conservative? Liberal?
• Some have said we live in an oligarchy. Is this true?
• If we could change anything about our political system to 'fix' it, what would we do? What can we do about our debt? About entitlements?
• Are we headed to economic boom or bust or somewhere in between?
• What is a winning strategy for Democrats? Republicans?

European politics

• What are the European views of current geopolitical events? Why are these views different than ours (if they are)?
• What accounts for anti-Americanism?
• Does Europe follow a tendency to appeasement?

Israeli/Palestinian conflict

• Was the creation of Israel justified?
• What are the roots of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict? Is it soluble? Where is it going?