NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS

November 2019

Domestic

Closed-Ended

1. Can Joe Biden hold on to the support of white, working class voters?

2. Should Rudolph Giuliani be indicted?

3. Is the United States mistaken in its decision to lift sanctions on Turkey?

4. Should emotional support animals be allowed on airplanes?

5. Does evidence exist to prove a quid-pro-quo between President Trump and the Ukrainian government?

6. Has the United States undermined its national security interests by disengaging from Syria?

7. Will a more centrist path help Pete Buttigieg’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination?

8. Will the Trump impeachment inquiry prove a significant distraction to conducting the business of government?

9. Are other Democratic presidential candidates yet to emerge?

10. Should American Presidents be immune from prosecution for felonies while in office?

11. Is Andrew Yang’s candidacy still viable?

12. Should the United States ban private prisons?

13. Should American entertainment companies self-censor to avoid offending Chinese
consumers and their government?

Open-Ended

1. What is the significance of Google’s achievement of “Quantum Supremacy”?

2. What will be the impact of the Trump administration’s change to fishery protection
regulations?

3. What will be the consequences of the opioid settlement for the victims of addiction and
their families?

4. Which private aerospace company stands the most to gain from America’s planned
return to the Moon?

5. How will impeachment proceedings against President Trump impact Democratic
chances for electoral success in 2020?

6. What will be the consequences of the United States’ withdrawal from the Open Skies
Treaty?

7. How is increased immigration from African countries changing America?

8. Will the case by Asian students against Harvard University succeed on appeal?

9. What changes must occur for Texas to become a “blue” state?

10. How would the nationwide adoption of California’s law allowing college athletes to
profit from their fame change college sports?

11. What will be the consequences of advanced cell phone call blocking features on political
polling?

12. Who is most likely to win the Iowa Democratic Caucuses?

International

Closed-Ended

1. Has President Trump’s decision to temporarily freeze aid to Ukraine impacted the
security of the country?

2. Will the release from prison of the man who triggered Hong Kong’s extradition law crisis
calm protests there?

3. Would the rest of the European Union prefer to have the UK in or out?

4. Has the United States ceded influence in Syria to Russia and Turkey?

5. Will Evo Morales win reelection?

6. Will Uzbekistan’s cotton industry be helped by its move toward privatization?

7. Will Hong Kong’s protests spread to mainland Chinese cities?

8. Will protests in Lebanon lead to a change in the government there?

9. Did Ethiopia’s president deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize?

10. Why are some European countries resisting enlargement of the EU into the Balkans?

11. Was Spain wrong to imprison Catalan leaders for sedition?

12. What accounts for the continued electoral success of Poland’s Law and Justice Party?

13. Should international business forgo business opportunities in China for the sake of
protecting the free speech of their employees?

Open-Ended

1. What can the world community do to combat North Korea’s widespread
malnourishment problem?

2. Which British party is most likely to benefit from a December election?

3. What is at the root of violence in Burkina Faso?

4. What would it take to make water desalinization a viable technology to meet the
world’s potable water needs?

5. Why has Justin Trudeau’s party lost its majority in Canada?

6. How should the Chilean government respond to recent riots by its citizens?

7. What will be the consequence for Peru’s political stability of the President’s dissolution
of Congress?

8. What can Asian nations do to protect Pacific coral reefs?

9. What steps could India and China take to reduce tensions between the two nations?

10. What steps must South Africa’s Democratic Alliance take to become relevant in their
country’s politics?

11. What can Iraq’s government do to quell economic and political frustrations in its
heartland?

12. What steps must the British government take to break the deadlock on Brexit?