NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS

September 2019

Domestic

Closed-Ended

1. Is free speech in the United States under threat?

2. Should the United States follow Elizabeth Warren’s suggestion and renounce the first
use of nuclear weapons?

3. Is the wide Democratic presidential primary field helping or hurting the party’s chance
of retaking the White House?

4. Is Bernie Sanders’ candidacy helping to ensure the selection of a moderate as the Democratic
party presidential nominee?

5. Will the increase in mass shootings make it easier for Congress to pass meaningful gun control
legislation?

6. Is the U.S. economy about to tip into recession?

7. Has the likelihood of President Trump’s impeachment decreased?

8. How central an issue will immigration be in the 2020 election?

9. Will President Trump succeed in his legal fight to keep his tax returns secret?

10. Will California’s decision to tighten the guidelines for police use of lethal force
encourage other states to follow suit?

11. Could a primary challenger from within the Republican Party successfully defeat
President Trump?

12. Have outspoken progressives on the left of the Democratic Party helped or hurt the
party’s 2020 prospects?

13. Is lung cancer due to vaping becoming a serious-enough problem to warrant further
regulation?

Open-Ended

1. What steps can the United States take to decrease domestic terrorist activity?

2. How is President Trump’s trade war with China impacting the U.S. economy?

3. What accounts for the growing strength of Microsoft?

4. Who loses the most from Jeffrey Epstein’s prison suicide?

5. How will the suspension of the INF treaty between the US and Russia impact America’s nuclear defense strategy?

6. How will Planned Parenthood’s decision to give up Federal Title X funding impact the availability of family planning care?

7. How will the fear of mass shootings in public places impact the U.S. economy?

8. How will the Trump administration’s changes to the Endangered Species Act impact the environment?

9. After some positive debate showings during the summer, what can Julian Castro do to elevate his campaign?

10. Who will be the next Democratic candidate to leave the presidential primary race?

11. How would a withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan impact the presidential election?

International

Closed-Ended

1. Can the United States and the Taliban achieve a peace deal?

2. Is democracy in Kyrgyzstan overrated?

3. Is Turkey in danger of being the next center of Islamic State activity?

4. Can Boris Johnson’s government survive a no-deal Brexit?

5. Is China having much success at influencing Taiwan’s elections?

6. Is the United Kingdom in danger of splitting?

7. Can Pakistan improve its relationship with the United States?

8. Will Iran use its navy to cut off the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf?

9. Is the US-China trade war hurting the economies of other nations?

10. Is Justin Trudeau’s political future in danger?

11. Is the threat to Europe from ISIS increasing?

12. Will expanded rights for women in Saudi Arabia mean much for the average citizen?

13. Will the agreement between the army and civilians to share power in Sudan last?

Open-Ended

1. What steps should the global community take to prepare for the inevitability of rising sea levels?

2. What steps should the government of Zimbabwe take to revive its crumbling economy?

3. What will be the consequences of India’s decision to strip Kashmir of its autonomy?

4. What steps can the government of Hong Kong take to prevent intervention in its civil unrest by the Chinese military?

5. What steps can Yemen’s neighbors take to prevent the nation from splitting in two?

6. What tactics must the opposition in Russia employ to hold their own against Putin’s repressive tactics?

7. What steps must Germany take to strengthen its shrinking economy?

8. What impact will new American sanctions have on the Venezuelan economy?

9. What must Huawei do to rehabilitate its international image?

10. What steps can be taken to warm chilled relations between South Korea and Japan?

11. Why do Muslim states not stand-up for the Uighurs in China?

12. What steps can the government of Ethiopia take to calm ethnic separatists in the nation’s south?