Category: International Extemp Page 31 of 58

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of February 9-15, 2015

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HOTtopics1. Does national sovereignty extend to cyberspace?
2. Is the selection of Sergio Mattarella as Italy’s new president a political victory for Matteo Renzi?
3. Should Britain worry about its growing trade deficit?
4. Yemen: Libya 2.0?
5. Is NATO failing Ukraine?
6. How can Tony Abbott reverse his declining political fortunes?
7. Was Nigeria’s postponment of its presidential vote justified?
8. Should Jordan engage in extensive ground operations against ISIS?
9. Can Aldemir Bendine fix Petrobras?
10. Will economic difficulties unify the Venezuelan opposition?

Greece’s Future (2015)

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Five years ago, Greece’s sovereign debt problems nearly brought down the eurozone.  In February 2010, the country found itself unable to pay its creditors and was forced to turn to the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for aid.  As a euro user, Greece was required under the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 to keep deficits below 3% of its GDP and to keep its public debt below a 60% ceiling.  However, Greek political officials concealed the true state of their budget situation with the help of American investment bank Goldman Sachs.  This allowed them to join the eurozone and borrow at low interest rates.  When the true size of Greece’s debt was revealed, panic swept European markets, especially those of heavily indebted countries such as Portugal, Italy, and Spain.  The fear was that if Greece failed to pay its debts that other indebted European countries, all of whom are euro members, would as well.  To calm markets, the so-called Troika of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB), and the IMF stepped in and funneled billions of dollars in loans to the Greek government.  This assistance required painful austerity measures, which caused Greece to increase taxes and reduce public spending.  The austerity measures have been very unpopular in Greece and two weeks ago, on January 25, the Greek populace elected the far-left SYRIZA Party, which opposes austerity.  New Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has vowed to not follow the conditions imposed by the Troika and is seeking a restructuring of Greece’s external debt.  Analysts warn that SYRIZA’s position puts it on a collision course with powerful EU nations such as Germany and that Greece’s recent election might take it out of the eurozone.

This topic brief will explore Greece’s current economic problems, discuss the outcome of the recent Greek election, and how the country’s future debt negotiations may proceed.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of February 2-8, 2015

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HOTtopics1. Can a joint AU force wipe out Boko Haram?
2. Is the IMF losing influence?
3. Will Narendra Modi’s banking initiative for the poor succeed?
4. Is Africa facing a public debt crisis?
5. How can Evo Morales have a successful third term?
6. Is Iran’s influence in the Middle East growing?
7. Should Argentina’s Intelligence Secretariat be dismantled?
8. Is Egypt losing its status as a credible mediator of the Israeli-Palestinian dispute?
9. Should the UN brand Russia as a sponsor of terrorism?
10. Will the new Greek coalition government survive 2015?

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of January 26-February 1, 2015

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HOTtopics1. Are Brazilian politicians to blame for the country’s water crisis?
2. Is India improving its environmental record?
3. What is King Abdullah’s human rights legacy?
4. How can South Africa effectively tackle its unemployment problem?
5. Have central bankers lost control of the world economy?
6. Has the West African Ebola outbreak been tamed?
7. Is Yemen headed toward civil war?
8. Should Greece’s debt be forgiven?
9. Why has Bashar al-Assad managed to hang onto power?
10. How will the death of King Abdullah affect Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States?

France and Islamic Extremism

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Two weeks ago on January 7, two gunmen stormed into the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French magazine, and proceeded to kill eleven people and a police officer.  The gunmen, Cherif and Said Kouachi, were French citizens with Islamic beliefs and their grievance against Charlie Hebdo was the magazine’s cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, who cannot be depicted per the tenets of the Islam.  Over the next two days, French police tracked down and killed the Kouachi brothers, while one of their accomplices, Amedy Coulibaly was killed after taking a kosher supermarket hostage.  Coulibaly killed four hostages and one policewoman before being neutralized.  The string of attacks shocked the French public, with many seeing the attack on Charlie Hebdo as an assault on the country’s traditions of freedom of speech and expression.  On January 11, an estimated 1.3 million people went into the streets of Paris to march against the violence, which included more than forty heads of state.  The attacks have presented President Francois Hollande with an opportunity to bolster his reputation among French voters, which has eroded over the last year due to a sluggish economy.  However, the attacks may serve to galvanize support for the French far-right, namely the National Front (FN), which has argued for immigration controls and against what they deem as the “Islamization” of France.

This topic brief will cover the status of France’s Muslim population, discuss the French government’s response and that of its international allies to the Charlie Hebdo attacks, and assess how the attacks may affect French politics before 2017 when the country will hold its next presidential election.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of January 19-25, 2015

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1. Five years later: Why has Haiti yet to fully recover from the goudougoudou?
2. Should the Chinese government view the rise of Christianity within its borders as a threat?HOTtopics
3. How can Croatia escape recession?
4. Is a Venezuelan default looming?
5. What impact would a Colombian peace deal have on the world’s coca trade?
6. Is the world winning the fight against HIV/AIDS?
7. How can international forces defeat the LRA?
8. Is France doing enough to curb anti-Semitism?
9. Will an ICC probe of Israeli war crimes bolster Benjamin Netanyahu’s political fortunes?
10. How should European governments handle citizens who go and fight for the Islamic State?

Operation Freedom’s Sentinel

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Two weeks ago, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) ended Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.  Beginning shortly after the September 11 terror attacks, Operation Enduring Freedom produced the fall of the Taliban government, scattered remnants of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, and attempted to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.  Operation Freedom’s Sentinel will replace Operation Enduring Freedom, with the United States leading a contingent of 13,000 foreign troops who will continue to provide training and intelligence services to Afghan security forces and support for counterterrorism operations.  President Barack Obama has called for a drawdown of all American forces from Afghanistan by 2016, with only 1,000 remaining in a non-combat capacity.  However, 2014 was the deadliest year on record in Afghanistan as more than 5,000 Afghan troops and 10,000 civilians were killed.  Since the American withdrawal from Iraq in 2011 produced the rise of the Islamic State, opponents of the President’s drawdown plan argue that the same fate could befall Afghanistan, thereby erasing the gains that NATO troops made since 2001.  New Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has also expressed hesitation about the withdrawal of more American and foreign troops from Afghan territory, warning last week that a future withdrawal should be based on mutual interests and not rigid timetables.

This topic brief will provide an assessment of Afghanistan’s progress during Operation Enduring Freedom, discuss how President Obama may handle Afghan policy over the next two years, and assess whether Afghanistan will need a sizable international presence beyond 2016.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of January 12th-18th, 2015

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HOTtopics1. What would an ideal Afghan peace agreement between its government and the Taliban look like?
2. Is Boko Haram a regional, or merely a Nigerian, problem?
3. Would it be counterproductive for Thai authorities to ban Yingluck Shinawatra from politics?
4. Who will be the next crown prince of Saudi Arabia?
5. Why did Mahinda Rajapaksa lose the Sri Lankan presidential election?
6. What reforms do Asian air carriers need to make to improve safety?
7. Does deflation pose a substantial threat to the Chinese economy?
8. Are European political elites taking the threat of Islamic fundamentalism seriously?
9. Is North Korea a nuclear-weapons state?
10. Does the Charlie Hebdo attack guarantee a National Front victory in next French presidential election?

Russia’s Economic Difficulties (2015)

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Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has improved its economic fortunes thanks to high oil prices.  Oil and natural gas make up 70% of the country’s exports and higher prices have enabled Putin to solidify his rule by making economic conditions more amenable for the country’s middle class, which weathered two periods of hyperinflation during the 1990s following the collapse of the Soviet Union.  However, the collapse of global oil prices, in conjunction with Western sanctions, are sending Russia down the road to recession.  Considering the fact that Russia is a prominent actor within the BRICS nations and that good economic fortunes have solidified Putin’s rule, economic difficulties in Russia could create significant upheaval not only within the country, but across the world as well.

This topic brief will break down Russia’s current economic problems, how those problems may affect Europe as a whole, and then discuss what they might mean for Putin’s political future.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of January 5th-11th, 2015

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HOTtopics1. Are low oil prices having a negative impact on Islamic militant groups?
2. If Palestinians join the ICC, how should Israel react?
3. Would the Western world welcome the collapse of the Russian economy?
4. How can Iran’s leadership make the Iranian economy more efficient?
5. What role should Australia play in the fight against ISIS?
6. Will the Virginia Roberts scandal significantly damage the British monarchy’s reputation?
7. Should Lebanon significantly limit the number of asylum seekers it takes in from Syria?
8. Will a Syriza election win lead to Greece abandoning the euro?
9. Is globalization enhancing human rights in the developing world?
10. What role will the NHS play in the 2015 British parliamentary elections?

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of December 29th, 2014-January 4th, 2015

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HOTtopics1. Can the Honduran military solve the nation’s crime problem?
2. Is the AU’s mission in Somalia failing?
3. Should Laos dam the Mekong?
4. Does the EU need to establish a single market for services?
5. Is the world winning the fight against child labor?
6. Should German politicians ignore Pegida?
7. Does Nicaragua need a canal?
8. Should Pakistan re-impose a moratorium on the death penalty?
9. Does Jordan’s fight against ISIS threaten King Abdullah’s rule?
10. Will the euro zone crisis return in 2015?

Normalizing U.S.-Cuban Relations (2014)

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Since 1960, the United States has maintained an economic embargo on Cuba, an island nation just ninety miles off the coast of Florida.  The embargo was an instrument of Cold War policymaking, as Cuba became a communist nation under Fidel Castro and seized American economic assets without compensation.  Even after the Cold War ended, the United States maintained the embargo as a political instrument in hopes of weakening the Castro regime.  However, in the 1990s and 2000s, the embargo came to be seen by other Latin American nations as an unjust extension of American imperialism and some pundits allege that the embargo came to isolate the United States from the rest of the Western Hemisphere just as much as the embargo isolated Cuba from the American mainland.  Last week, President Obama announced that he was taking executive action to weaken the long standing Cuban embargo and that he would move to normalize relations with Cuba.  The President’s action received bipartisan support from those who believe that the embargo harms America’s relations with other Latin American nations, yet also received bipartisan criticism for rewarding a dictatorial regime that abuses the rights of its citizens.  The President’s actions have forced 2016 presidential contenders such as Hillary Clinton, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio to weigh in on the issue and depending on how well the President’s normalization push goes, it could become a significant issue in the Republican presidential primaries and the 2016 general election.

This topic brief will highlight some of the important steps taken to get Cuba and the United States to the negotiating table, discuss what actions President Obama will take to weaken the embargo, and the political impact that normalizing Cuban relations may have over the next two years, especially with regards to presidential politics.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of December 22nd-28th, 2014

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HOTtopics1. Does Kenya’ new anti-terror bill go too far?
2. Will the Peshawar school massacre lead to a more robust Pakistani response to Taliban militancy?
3. Is Pope Francis an early frontrunner for the next Nobel Peace Prize?
4. Will Ukraine’s economic blockade of Donetsk and Luhansk produce an end to the Ukrainian civil war?
5. How can China prevent Hong Kong-style protests in its other semiautonomous areas?
6. Is Modi doing enough to rein in Hindu radicals?
7. Would a UN vote on the West Bank strengthen Israeli hardliners?
8. Was North Korea responsible for the hacking of Sony Pictures?
9. Are weak commodities markets eroding the power of the BRICS?
10. Would the elimination of the U.S. embargo strengthen the Castro regime?

Collapsing Oil Prices (2014)

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Since June, the price of oil has plunged 40% on the international market in response to economic slowdowns in Europe and Asia and a glut of supply from the Middle East and North America.  The falling price of oil, near $60 a barrel at the time of the writing of this brief, has been a boon for nations that import fossil fuels.  It also provides much needed stimulus for consumer-driven economies such as the United States as people are able to take the money they would normally spend on high gas prices and direct it to other economic activities.  However, the falling oil price has worked against some economies that rely largely on the proceeds from oil exports.  Countries such as Venezuela, Russia, and Nigeria, among others, are now left wondering how they will react to the sudden fall of global oil prices and the decisions that they make could determine whether their current governments survive.

This topic brief will cover the reasons for the collapse of global oil prices, how the falling price will affect the United States economy, and how prominent oil exporters will be affected.

Readers are also encouraged to use the links below and in the related R&D to bolster their files about this topic.

HotTopics: International Extemp Questions for the Week of December 15th-21st, 2014

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HOTtopics1. Will U.S. sanctions force the Maduro to change course?
2. After 13 years, did NATO accomplish its mission in Afghanistan?
3. Should Venezuela expand its oil diplomacy initiative?
4. What role should the UN play in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute?
5. Should Michel Martelly resign?
6. What does a feminist foreign policy look like?
7. Was the Lima climate summit a failure?
8. Should the British government open a torture probe?
9. How should the Japanese snap election result be interpreted?
10. Will low oil prices constrain Russia’s foreign policy?

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