Category: International Extemp Page 4 of 56

Note:  The first Extemp Central news quiz of the 2023-2024 competitive year will be posted on Tuesday evening!

1. How can the African Union stop a “contagion of autocracy” in West Africa?
2. Is Scotland the key to the British Labour Party regaining power?
3. How can South Korea improve its birthrate?
4. Should future recovery of Titanic artifacts be prohibited?
5. Were Zimbabwe’s elections fair?
6. Can an expanded BRICS be an effective counterweight to the West?
7. Should Germany use its closed nuclear power plants?
8. Are AI technologies a threat to global democracy?
9. Should Mexico welcome a possible U.S. military mission to fight drug cartels?
10. Should Benjamin Netanyahu prioritize a Saudi peace deal over the survival of his government?

1. Should Saudi Arabia join the BRICS?
2. What does the election of Bernardo Arevalo mean for Guatemala’s future?
3. Has the West undermined the promise of Ukraine’s counteroffensive?
4. How will the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin affect the future of the Wagner Group?
5. Should more petrostates embrace “sportswashing”?
6. Is the AfD a significant threat to German democracy?
7. Can Srettha Thavisin reduce the political temperature of Thai politics?
8. Is Xi Jinping’s growing power in China a cause of its economic woes?
9. Should Japan be allowed to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant?
10. Who will win the Ecuadorian presidential runoff?

1. How would a Javier Milei presidency change Argentina?
2. Is Russia conducting ecocide against Ukraine?
3. What are the chances that a diplomatic pact can be brokered between Saudi Arabia and Israel?
4. Is it still in China’s interests to protect North Korea?
5. Why is Syria’s Civil War in a never-ending endgame?
6. How can Germany guarantee that its green energy ambitions do not disrupt the country’s manufacturing sector?
7. Is the world on the cusp of another space race?
8. Has China become too risky for foreign investment?
9. Are Western moves toward drug legalization making Latin American nations more unstable?
10. Is Ethiopia heading back toward civil war?

1. Is Ukraine’s counteroffensive failing?
2. Does globalization make the world safer?
3. Is the era of high economic growth in China over?
4. Why are ISIS outfits succeeding in West Africa?
5. Is Netanyahu becoming an autocrat?
6. What steps does Ecuador need to take to bolster public safety?
7. How can Latin American nations benefit from the next commodities boom?
8. Is Kenya the right nation to lead a multinational force to stabilize Haiti?
9. Could NATO effectively operate without the United States?
10. Is Modi’s government responsible for recent sectarian violence in Manipur?

1. If Spain holds an election repeat, what should the People’s Party do to get a governing majority?
2. Is Russia’s military machine crumbling?
3. Should West African nations mount a military intervention in Niger?
4. Is Pakistan’s election delay unwise?
5. Should NATO consider expansion beyond Europe?
6. Will Italy regret its decision to leave the Belt and Road Initiative?
7. Should the LDP consider Taro Yamamoto a threat to its political standing?
8. Does Canada need to increase its military spending?
9. How should Poland respond to Wagner fighters on its border with Belarus?
10. Have the benefits of Nayib Bukele’s gang crackdown outweighed the negatives?

Note:  These will be the last extemp questions of the 2022-2023 season.  New questions will be released during the first week of August.  A CFL recap and new National Points Race standings will be released later this week when AP examination scoring ends.  Thank you for using Extemp Central this season!

1. Who is best positioned to win Spain’s snap election?
2. Are investigations of Russian interference in Poland politically motivated?
3. Will the Balasore train disaster provide the momentum needed for India to modernize its infrastructure?
4. Is Lula’s embrace of Maduro bad policy?
5. Will Sudan’s civil war carry into 2024?
6. How would the successful launch of a spy satellite by North Korea impact East Asian security?
7. Should economic recovery or national security be the priority of Bola Tinubu’s government?
8. Will El Salvador’s wide-scale gang crackdown make the country less safe in the long run?
9. Is it in Ukraine’s best interest to launch drone strikes on Russian cities?
10. Will Erdogan’s victory make Turkey’s economic prospects worse?

1. Will South Africa’s economic situation continue to worsen the longer the ANC holds onto power?
2. Who will be Iran’s next Supreme Leader?
3. Has Greece fully recovered from its debt crisis?
4. What reforms does Great Britain need to make to the NHS?
5. How can AMLO ensure that Delfina Gómez succeeds him next year?
6. What should Australia do in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?
7. Is the European Union too big or not big enough?
8. What is most needed to revive the Middle East peace process?
9. How can China solve its youth unemployment problem?
10. What if Ukraine loses?

1. How will Russian capture of Bakhmut affect the Russo-Ukrainian War?
2. Could greater reliance on AI by government agencies make the risk of nuclear war higher?
3. Will Erdogan win another term?
4. Why are Ecuadorian politics so dysfunctional?
5. Will the Chinese yuan become the global reserve currency over the next two decades?
6. Are Mexico’s drug gangs growing stronger?
7. Is “debt trap” diplomacy a fair characterization of China’s actions in Africa?
8. Will growing sectarian tensions in India hinder its geopolitical dreams?
9. Should Iran continue to fund proxy forces throughout the Middle East?
10. Is ASEAN responding effectively to Myanmar’s civil war?

1. Can Russia win a war of attrition in Ukraine?
2. Could a regional agreement on Iran’s nuclear program be an effective substitute for action by the P5+1?
3. Should significant sanctions remain on Syria for the forseeable future?
4. Will the drive for green energy deal another blow to global free trade efforts?
5. Why have Chilean leftists lost political momentum?
6. Will Mexican voters give AMLO’s party a supermajority in 2024?
7. Would new leadership reinvigorate the cause of Palestinian statehood?
8. Will Pakistan be able to hold general elections later this year?
9. Is it unwise for South Africa to distance itself from the United States?
10. Will the Middle East’s drive for nuclear power enhance China’s influence in the region?