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Extemp Central’s analysis of the 2014 National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament International and United States Extemp topic areas is now available. This analysis is written by Carolyn Evans (2014 NFA Collegiate Extemp National Champion; 2013 NFL USX 9th place) and Logan Scisco (Extemp Central; 2003 NFL USX Final Round Winner). The analysis highlights the big concepts in each topic area, discusses strategies for the tournament, and provides sample practice questions for each topic area.
Those who have a season subscription on the website can access the NSDA topic area analysis by going to the premium content page and clicking on the necessary link. If you are not a premium subscriber, you can obtain the analysis for $20 via SpeechGeek Market or you can purchase a 2013-2014 premium subscription via SpeechGeek Market, which will give you access to the topic area analysis and all of this season’s briefs and strategy articles for an additional $5.
Not sure whether you want to buy? A sample from each brief is included below.
International Extemp Analysis by Logan Scisco (Sample)
Topic Area #3: India, Pakistan, Southeast Asia, and Oceania
The NSDA National Tournament has a history of making this a topic area and I have never been happy about it. First, it encompasses way too many countries and comes off as a “rest of Asia” round. And second, it largely ignores Afghanistan, which the national tournament seems to think belongs in the Middle East instead of Central Asia (where it is geographically classified). Placing Afghanistan in this topic area would have been a better choice since Pakistan and India have interests in that area. Extempers should also be prepared to discuss Nepal in this topic area as well, even though it does not fit into the “Southeast Asia” paradigm. Also, Australia, Brunei, and the Philippines are the countries that are likely to attract the most questions within the “Oceania” tag.
Most of the questions in this topic area will come from India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Australia, and Thailand. Other countries in the region will get their share of questions, like Nepal, Brunei, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, but most of your questions in this topic area will concern these five countries because of their global political influence, as well as their economic clout in the region. Extempers should remember that ethnicity and religious concerns, as well as economic status, divide countries in this area of the world. India and Pakistan is the perfect example of this, as they were both administered by the British and partitioned in 1947. Muslims received the country of Pakistan (which at the time also included Bangladesh to the East) and Hindus received India. Sectarian violence flared when the partition of the region was announced and animosities have continued since 1947, centering largely on Kashmir, India’s only Muslim-majority state (China also has claims on that territory). Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim state and Brunei attracted international attention this year for adopting sharia law in its criminal code. Thailand has had an Islamic insurgency in its southern territories for the last decade, Sri Lanka had to fight the Islamic Tamil Tigers for more than thirty years, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fought the Philippines for more than forty years and acquired the right to self-rule in the southern Philippines by 2016. Also, Bangladesh’s political conflict has been driven by sectarian concerns as the Bangladeshi Nationalist Party (BNP) has been close with Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), which wants to institute a form of sharia law. Like Africa, it is difficult to divide religious beliefs and ethnicity from these conflicts and extempers need to make sure to discuss these factors in their speeches.
Many of the questions about India will be about its political situation and prospects for better economic growth. The recent landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a socially conservative, Hindu nationalist political faction, in the Indian national elections, is a notable event that extempers should make sure to understand. The BJP will not have to govern with a coalition partner because of its sizable victory and its prime ministerial candidate, Narendra Modi, has called for greater economic reforms. India’s biggest economic problems are a lack of sufficient infrastructure, a high inflation rate, and high government debt. Extempers should be prepared to discuss what Modi should do to help the economy and why he managed to win such a large electoral victory. India’s struggles with women’s rights will also be a question, since Modi sent out mixed signals about his beliefs during the election and there have been a rash of protests in the country over women’s safety and sexual harassment. Since the question writers will need some foreign relations questions, expect to discuss India’s growing role in the international community (and the possibility of it receiving a UN Security Council seat), its economic competition with China, and its dispute with Pakistan over Kashmir.
Questions about Pakistan will center on political upheaval and Pakistan’s efforts against foreign Islamist militants in its northwest frontier provinces. Pakistan’s government has struggled to clamp down on Islamic militants on its border with Afghanistan (although some argue that they just aren’t trying hard enough as evidenced by Osama bin Laden being found in the country) and the area is the site of controversial U.S. drone strikes, which Pakistan claims are a violation of its national sovereignty. The Pakistani government is currently in negotiations with the Pakistani Taliban, so extempers should be ready for a question about whether a peace deal can be reached to end the instability in these border areas. Also, the country’s controversial blasphemy laws have drawn attention due to attacks waged against Christians, Hindus, and other religious minorities in the country. Twitter also recently agreed to remove content that was deemed blasphemous and Pakistan has been an active campaigner to restrict freedom of religion worldwide. Politically, Pakistan is in the process of putting former President Pervez Musharraf on trial for high treason, so extempers should be ready to discuss his case.
Indonesia and Australia are the main powers of Oceania and their dispute over refugees will attract attention in this round. Australia has tried to send boats of asylum seekers, who have fled from Southeast Asia, back to Indonesia, but human rights activists claim that this behavior is a violation of international law. Indonesia has also claimed that Australia has moved into its sovereign waters to redirect the boats, which it takes offense to. Australia elected a new prime minister in September, Tony Abbott, and he has attracted criticism for introducing an austerity budget and faces an approval rating of thirty percent. The Indonesian government has also not been a fan of Abbott’s policies on asylum and left-wing Australian forces think he is compromising the country’s ties to China by moving toward the American position on China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea. Indonesia faces a presidential election on July 9th to replace outgoing president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (one of the more fun names to pronounce in extemporaneous speaking). The two leading candidates are Jakarta governor Joko Widodo and former special forces general Prabowo Subianto. The main issues of the election are expected to be good governance (Indonesia has only had competitive presidential elections since 1998) and the handling of the growing Indonesian economy. Indonesia, like the Philippines, opposes China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and, in fact, Indonesia recently settled a border dispute with the Philippines, thereby signifying a focus against a larger power in the region.
Other issues extempers should be aware of in this topic area include the recent military coup in Thailand (and that country’s political dysfunction), Vietnam’s dispute with China in the South China Sea and the potential for future conflict, Myanmar’s handling of ethnic conflict and the chances of more political reform in that nation, the impartiality of the International Crimes Tribunals of Bangladesh (which are not really international), Malaysia’s handling of Malaysia’s Airlines Flight 370 and the use of the country’s judiciary against political opponents of the existing government, and Nepal’s quest to create a new constitution. Also, the impact of global warming on the islands of Oceania might come up in this round.
As far as good sources for this area of the world, I would highly recommend the Sydney Morning Herald, The Straits Times of Malaysia, The Hindu, The Asia Times, The Jakarta Post, The Daily Jang Urdu (Pakistani source), and The Bangkok Post.
Practice Questions
1. What is the most significant stumbling block in Indian-Pakistani relations?
2. Is Thailand headed toward civil war?
3. Tony Abbott: The Australian George W. Bush?
4. Can Narendra Modi fix the Indian economy?
5. Does Myanmar need to enact more constitutional reform before holding next year’s elections?
United States Extemp Analysis by Carolyn Evans (Sample)
Topic Area #3: America’s Global Role
ISSUES:
From my guess, US Foreign Policy has been bifurcated into two different rounds. One round, the Military, Defense, and National Security round, will deal with our military and defense ordeals abroad. However, contrary to popular belief, the US does play a large role in diplomatic, humanitarian, and economic affairs. This round, America’s Global Role, will likely deal with all US Foreign Policy that is not military related.
Before we look at our continental conundrums, it’s important to note the US is part of several major multinational organizations. When it comes to “America’s Global Role”, nowhere is this more seen than through the UN. The US created the United Nations and it still largely runs it today. The US is the largest contributor of funding to the UN, the UN headquarters are located in New York, and the US is one of the P5 (a permanent member of the infamous security council.) The US’s position in the UN has become interesting this year for a few reasons.
1) Human Rights- When Edward Snowden leaked that the US was collecting data on its citizens, it wasn’t just Americans who were mortified. Countries across the globe learned that the US was collecting their data as well. The UN criticized this NSA spying as a human rights violation. The UN also criticized the US for its human rights failings on racial inequality, gun violence, Guantanamo bay, the death penalty, and drone strikes. In criticizing the US for its human rights failings, the UN, an organization created by the US to monitor and solve global human rights violations, turned on its creator.
2) Loss of Credibility- Early this year, the UN released a report that the human rights crisis in North Korea was tantamount to atrocities by Nazi Germany in the 1940’s. North Korea, in tandem with China, accused this report of being biased, because the research was spearheaded by the US. As the US pushed its own agenda forward, other powerful countries, like China, are beginning to question its impartiality in human rights and policy objectives.
3) The Security Council- The UN cannot militarily be involved without a unanimous vote from the P5+1. If any member nation vetos the resolution, the UN cannot intervene. The US sits on a security council with the UK, France, Russia, and China. When the Syrian crisis broke out, both Russia and China were known supporters of the Assad regime. Consequently, any security action would be vetoed. When the ten new honorary members of the security council were proposed earlier this year, Saudi Arabia rejected its seat, citing US failure to intervene in Syria as the reason. As Russia, China, and the US come to a head on geopolitical issues, Saudi Arabia’s statements illustrate how the US’s power to use UN intervention is dwindling.
Now at the UN, let’s briefly cover a global overview of America’s Global Role by region. I’ll explain places where America’s Global Role is increasing in power, decreasing in power, or remaining neutral.
1) Africa- INCREASE. The US has maintained military and diplomatic interests in the conflicts in Nigeria, CAR, DRC, South Sudan, and AU policymaking. As more conflict erupts, more aid and troops are needed in these areas, and the US has been happy to oblige.
2) Asia- DECREASE. US Foreign Policy has maintained it will “shift” to the pacific. Although this has been marked as a military move, it does indicate the America is worried about the role of Asian nations like China growing in economic and diplomatic power. As China and Japan vie to be the regional hegemont, the US is losing prowess in this region.
3) Europe- NEUTRAL. The US has increasingly turned to partners in France and the UK to impose their global power. However, tensions remain high over immigration and economic issues that run rampant throughout Europe. Meanwhile, the US cannot seem to gain leverage over Russia, who continues to expand in Eastern Europe. The US is allied with the EU against Russian imposition, giving them more of a global role in Europe. Simultaneously, their inability to force Russian retreat shows a weakness in global power.
4) Middle East- DECREASE. The US pivots away militarily, but we continue to give massive amounts of aid to humanitarian and diplomatic efforts across the Middle East. We cut off massive amounts of aid to Egypt last year after the overthrow of Morsi. As we have less troops on the ground and less money circulating in the region, we are overwhelmingly losing power. John Kerry has been in the midst of peace negotiations with Israel and Palestine for the past few months. The talks are not going well.
5) North America- DECREASE. NAFTA is turning 20 this year, and relations between Barack Obama and Stephen Harper (Canada’s Prime Minister) are icy at best over a variety of issues, most notably the Keystone pipeline. If NAFTA falls through, the US will lose a significant amount of regional power with Canada and Mexico.
6) South America- DECREASE. With the leak of the NSA data, countries like Brazil are furious the US was spying on South American countries. This has lead to several cancelled White House visits by Delma Roussef. Following this breach of trust, the US has had difficulty maintaining the power it once had in this region.
STRATEGY:
The US has had a very underwhelming year in impacting Global Affairs. As you approach this round, really sell the statements of significance. If the US fails to act in the correct fashion, we will lose our status as the “Global Power.” Impacts also have the potential to be huge. This is a great round to go for bigger impacts like war, global poverty, and political turmoil. Don’t be afraid to embrace your inner IXer.
POTENTIAL QUESTIONS:
- Has the UN Security Council’s legitimacy been compromised by contradictory US actions?
- How should the US best utilize humanitarian aid to catalyze the peace process in the Middle East?
- Does a failure of the US to convince the EU to adopt Russian sanctions doom the Ukrainian peace process?
- As China’s economic continues to stagnate, can the US regain traction in Asian markets?
- How can the US regain the trust of South America following the NSA scandal?