As was done for the Catholic Forensic League (CFL) national tournament, Extemp Central provides you with this topic area analysis for the International Extemp portion of next week’s NFL national tournament in Kansas City, Missouri.
In the first of our four-part series, we explore three of the thirteen topic areas at the 2010 NFL National Tournament in International Extemp.
Topic Area #1: Africa
Topic Area #2: Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean
Topic Area #3: Central and South America
Keep reading to explore these areas in further depth.
Topic Area #1: Africa
The problems of the African continent were the talk of extempers in the 1990s, mostly because of the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that analysts regarded as Africa’s version of World War I. In recent years, Africa’s problems have fallen off of the global map as the war on terrorism has increased and political problems in Latin America, Europe, and Southeast Asia engulf the world’s press. However, when extempers confront this topic area there are a few things to remember. First, Africa is not a country it is a continent. It is very disappointing to hear extempers at a national tournament called Africa a country but I can guarantee that it will happen in several rounds when this topic area is utilized. Please don’t be one of those extempers. Second, remember that many of Africa’s political problems are because of the borders that European powers drew on the continent in the nineteenth century. These borders put competing ethnic groups within the same national system and European powers played upon these divisions in order to retain power. Many speeches on African politics don’t dwell on these ethnic divides and that is also disappointing during African speeches. Finally, if you have to give a speech on the African economy or the economy of a specific African nation keep in mind that Africa’s primary problems are because of a lack of infrastructure, human capital, and good governance. There are tons of stories out there of corrupt African governments and if extempers want to search for some and put them in their files they would be well served with this topic area. A good resource for African newspaper source is AllAfrica. AllAfrica is NOT a source, although many extempers make this mistake every year when I watch speeches. AllAfrica merely collects the reporting done by African papers and you can find the names of those papers in the heading of the articles that you cut. It is always refreshing to hear sources that are on the ground about a specific topic instead of sources that are distanced from the conflicts. Although European and American sources have credibility when talking about international issues, they often have different cultural perspectives and biases when discussing African problems so combining them with indigenous analysis of African affairs will make your speeches more unique. As a final note, this topic area can be fun this year because the World Cup will be taking place during the NFL National tournament. The World Cup is being held in South Africa so if you want to make some soccer analogies in your speeches here or use it as an AGD that might be a good idea.
Issues you might hit in this round include:
- The safety of the World Cup in South Africa
- Africa’s fight against AIDS/HIV and malaria
- South Africa’s racial violence and political climate (will it turn into another Zimbabwe?)
- Zimbabwe’s ongoing political problems and the future without Mugabe
- If Africa would benefit from becoming a “United States of Africa”
- Somali piracy
- How corruption can be lowered in African governments
- The UN’s efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo against the FDLR
- Al-Qaeda security threats in Western Africa
- Problems in the Niger Delta
Topic Area #2: Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean
This is one of the more sensible topic area arrangements that I have seen a national tournament make. Canada and Mexico are often ignored in rounds that talk about the Americas and are sometimes lumped with other nations like Australia that don’t fit a defined geographic category. While the global recession has not been kind to Mexico and the Caribbean, Canada has been ahead of the pack in the industrialized world in creating jobs. Mexico’s poverty and social instability because of its drug war has caused massive migration to the United States, where remittances contribute a substantial amount to the Mexican economy. Cuba is also locked into poverty and Raul Castro is trying to figure out how to fix the nation’s emerging liquidity problem because of the global recession and America’s trade embargo on the island nation. Jamaica has also been beset by political instability because of the nation’s drug lords and Haiti has been plagued by ineffective governance and the earthquake that rocked the country earlier in the season. Therefore, this round offers a lot of contrasts between “have’s” and “have not’s” and nations that have close relations to the United States and those that are viewed with hostility. Because of the close geographic proximity of these nations to the United States, many speeches that you give in this round should have impacts that tie to the United States. Your judge will be more familiar with Mexico than any other nation in this topic area, so if you have to give a speech about Mexico they will be thinking of several things: illegal immigration on America’s southern border, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the drug wars occurring in that country. Regardless of if your question directly ties to these areas, although it is likely that it will in some way, you need to show how it impacts Americans. This will make your judge feel involved in the speech and it demonstrates that international concerns impact America, especially in the globalized world in which we live. For Caribbean sources, extempers should look at publications like The Latin American Herald Tribune, The Latin American Post, and a think tank called Upside Down World. Upside Down World is a left-leaning think tank and offers a radically different view of Latin American affairs than you will find in the American and European press. For example, they strongly support Hugo Chavez and think that his actions are empowering and great for the region. If you cut Upside Down World, make sure you remember its credentials and cite them in a round so skeptical judges will know that the source is credible. Another important piece of information for extempers on this topic is that Canada will be hosting the next G-8 and G-20 summits the week after NFL. This demonstrates the large role that Canada continues to play in international politics and is useful to use in a speech if you are talking about our neighbor to the North. Finally, because of the poverty in this region, especially in the Caribbean but also with Mexico, extempers will want to get some statistics about the levels of foreign aid America sends to this region of the world. America is providing military assistance for Mexico’s drug war and rebuilding assistance to Haiti. If you have to talk about winning the Mexican drug war or how Haiti can be rebuilt, you will need to talk about America’s role and having foreign aid statistics to back you up would be great for this round.
Issues you might hit in this round include:
- Canadian concerns about the future of their nation’s healthcare model
- The impact of the Mexican drug war on the Mexican government and the effectiveness of Felipe Calderon’s policies
- Recent drug violence in Jamaica
- What Cuba can do to improve its economy and end the US-sponsored embargo
- How Mexico can reduce the flow of illegal immigrants to the United States
- Canada’s development of oil sands
- The success (or lack thereof) of Canada’s Winter Olympics
- If communism is on its last legs in Cuba
- What the international community can do to rebuild Haiti more effectively
Topic Area #3: Central and South America
Hugo Chavez’s Bolivarian Revolution continues to spread throughout Latin America and has earned him the ire of the United States and some human rights activists. The Economist had a profile of Venezuela’s political, social, and economic problems a few weeks ago and I hope that extempers have it in their files. Also, Brazil has stepped up its role on the international stage by helping to broker a deal over Iran’s nuclear arms, although some proliferation experts believe that the agreement won’t be effective in reducing Iran’s capability to construct a nuclear weapon. Brazil sees itself the same way that India and China do: as an emerging global power and calls have risen for it to be given a larger role at the United Nations Security Council and in other international institutions. Political upheaval continues to be a major concern in the region as Colombia is holding a presidential election this year, which is being carefully watched by Hugo Chavez who has argued that if Juan Manuel Santos wins the election that he would impose trade restrictions on Colombia. Furthermore, Argentina has a presidential election next year where Nestor Kirchner will try to swap off with his wife Cristina and some countries in the region like Bolivia and Nicaragua have abolished term limits. The bickering between Colombia and Venezuela, which includes allegations that Venezuela is helping Colombian rebels and concern about American military bases in Colombia, is a major concern in American foreign policy and the tensions between both nations concern analysts who see a military buildup in the region. Russian interests in helping Venezuela build a nuclear reactor have also raised red flags that Chavez wants to acquire a nuclear weapon, which might prompt Brazil and other governments in the region to do the same. International extempers should recognize that the economic problems that this region experienced early in the last decade are blamed on the perceived failure of the Washington consensus, which sought to open the region to free trade and deregulate its markets. Also, the political clout of indigenous groups, which have endured discrimination in the past from peoples of European heritage in the region, have helped keep Evo Morales of Bolivia and Hugo Chavez in power. When answering questions about this region it is important that you not only explain the factors that keep these leftist leaders in power but also explain how those factors developed. A useful and underutilized source for South America that can work for this topic area is MercoPress, which is the press agency of Mercosur, which is the South American trade bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Issues you might hit in this round include:
- The chances of the Kirchner’s maintaining political power in Argentina in 2011
- The stability of Hugo Chavez’s government
- What is wrong with the Venezuelan economy
- The likelyhood of a war in the future between Venezuela and Colombia
- Who will win the Colombian presidential election
- If the elimination of term limits is good or bad for Latin American nations
- What Brazil can do to boost its international standing
- The role of Honduras in future Latin American policies post-coup