European Universities Debating Championships¶
Athens EUDC 2019¶
R1¶
THBT Greece should introduce significant financial incentives for companies and individuals currently based in Athens* to relocate to other Greek cities Over a third of the Greek population lives in Athens. ### R2 #### THBT it is in the interest of the Chinese Communist Party to cease attempts to infringe on “”One Country, Two Systems”” in Hong Kong, rather than continuing its current approach. ### R3 #### THW encourage women to be selfish ### R4 #### THBT it is in the interest of dominant organised religions for their leaders to declare more progressive interpretations of traditional dogma *e.g. on dietary and pilgrimage requirements, the acceptability of contraception, same-sex relationships ### R5 #### THBT consumers should predominantly aim to buy locally produced goods and services ### R6 #### THW break up Disney¶
The Walt Disney Company owns Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Fox, ABC and dozens of other studios, media networks, amusement parks and merchandising rights.
R7¶
R8¶
In circumstances where a unanimous decision is currently required, THP majority voting as the European Council’s decision-making approach¶
In matters of high sensitivity and complexity, the European Council requires unanimous decision-making. These matters include, but are not limited to foreign policy decisions, granting new rights to EU citizens and suspending the rights of current member states.
R9¶
THW make police commanders personally criminally liable for instances of police brutality committed by their subordinates¶
ESL Quarter Finals¶
In situations where deliberate economic policies by another state have caused substantial economic harms, THBT international law should reeognise that-mlitary-retaliation can be-justified e.g. restricting access to important trade routes or straits, aggressively increasing the price of vital commodities, limiting access to strategic resources¶
ESL Semi Finals¶
THBT the US Democratic Party should prioritise emplyment issues, even at the expense of significant harms to the environment.¶
ESL Grand Final¶
TH Opposes the Defining Decade norm¶
The ‘Defining Decade’ is a cultural norm which urges young adults to persistently persue life goals, even at the expense of significantly neglecting immideate desires. As part of this approach it is common to seek to maximise educational value from most activities, seek more responsibility at work, seek instrumental value from social relationships, and stigmatise idle time.
Partial Double-Quarter Finals¶
THBT local governments ih developing countries should allocate significant portions of their budget via Participatory Budgeting¶
Participatory Budgeting’ is a process in which ordinary civilians decide how to allocate part of a municipal or local public budget. Citizens propose and prioritize spending projects within a predefined amount of funding, and the government is bound by the decisions they made, e.g, local transportation projects, subsidies, and educational and cultural programs
Quarter Finals¶
Grand Final¶
THBT the Greek government should have rejected the 2015 bailout deal and sought to negotiate further concessions, even at the risk of not receiving a bailout.¶
EUDC 2018 Novi Sad¶
R1¶
THBT the US Democratic Party should move to the left in candidate selection and policy platform¶
R2¶
THBT State Health Services should allow private companies to run hospitals for profit¶
R3¶
THBT the State should fund the creation of, and access to, realistic androids that simulate romantic relationships.¶
R4¶
THR the glorification of the immediate postcolonial leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa.¶
R5¶
THBT South Korea should abandon the goal of, and all policies which aim at, Korean reunification¶
R6¶
THR the increasing trend of popular shows featuring neurodivergence* as the central theme. Neurodivergence refers to those whose psychology is non standard, e.g. for reasons of mental health, mental disability, etc. ### R7 #### TH, as Colombia, would cease cooperation with the USA in the War Against Drugs ### R8 #### THBT Artists should not participate in the ongoing interpretation of their art. ### R9 #### TH supports first generation immigrants to Western Europe encouraging their children to fully assimilate and identify with the local culture ### OF #### THW prefer a religion which preaches that one’s fate in the material world is predetermined rather than one which preaches that choices influence it ### QF #### THBT the IMF should require direct control over a country’s monetary policy as a condition of national bailouts. ### SF #### THBT liberal democracies should constitutionally enshrine the right of regions to unilaterally secede ### GF #### THR the shift in the #MeToo movement from victims sharing their experiences to holding public figures to account ### ESL QF #### THBT the EU should decriminalize human smuggling. * Human smuggling is the aiding of a willing person to illegally cross a border. It is distinct from human trafficking, in which the person does not consent.¶
ESL SF¶
THR the decline of labour union power in the West¶
ESL GF¶
TH supports the promotion of collective guilt after large scale crimes against humanity¶
EUDC 2017 Tallin¶
R1¶
THBT the US should ban extremist groups (e.g. the KKK and neo-nazi groups).¶
R2¶
THBT the WTO should allow developing countries to impose policies aimes at protecting domestic industries, even at the expense of harming international trade.¶
R3¶
R4¶
THBT states should significantly fund female-only tech companies.¶
R5¶
TH, as Israel, supports the Jewish People’s Intelligence Service Doctrin.¶
The Jewish People’s Intelligence Service Doctrin is a proposal which states that the Israeli Intelligence service should have a significant responsibility not only to Israeli’s citizens’ security, but also to the security to the Jewish communities abroad. If this doctrin were adopted, Israel would use significant resources and launch potentially violent operations in order to keep Jewish people safe internationally.
R6¶
TH supports universities treating students like customers (e.g. by allocating significant ressources to improving students’ lifestyles, and granting students influence over university decisions and the content and delivery of the course curricula).¶
R7¶
THBT Western medical institutions should neither cooperate with, nor use the data produced by, non-Western medical institutions that do not meet Western standards on human clinical trials.¶
Non-Western medical institutions are becoming increasingly competitive within the field of human clinical trials and now constitute a major share of the world’s scientific output. These trials operate under local medical standards that are less stringent than Western ones.
R8¶
THBT LGBT groups should actively seek to include Side B christians.¶
Side B christians are christians who identify as experiencing same sex attraction but nevertheless believe that homosexual sex is sinful, and therefor attempt to remain celibate.
R9¶
TH supports the creation and use of Lethal Autonomous Robots.¶
Lethal Autonomous Robots are fully autonomous military weapons that can select and engage targets without human intervention.
Open PDQF¶
THBT the US should reverse the ‘Pivot to Asia’ strategy.¶
ESL QF¶
THBT having children is immoral.¶
Open QF¶
TH, as women’s rights groups in India, would adopt violent female goddesses as prominent symbols.¶
In Hinduism, there exist prominent goddesses that represent liberation through force, violence, aggression and power. An example is Kali, who is often portrayed wearing a garland of skulls of the men she has killed around her neck and standing on her lover, the Hindu God Shiva, who lies calm and submissive beneath her.
ESL SF¶
THW allow local governments to issue immigration permits that grant access to Defined Permit Services in the local area only.¶
Defined Permit Services include access to the purchasing or renting of property, employment, and government services such as education, healthcare and welfare.
Open SF¶
THR the mass deregulation of the financial sector.¶
Since the 1980s, the financial sector has grown rapidly in many developed economies, with mass deregulation serving as a major driver. As the sector has grown, the number of people employed in the industry, and the variety and complexity of financial products have increased.
ESL final¶
THBT Western European states at high risk for terror attacks should implement ‘state of emergency’ laws.¶
‘State of emergency’ laws temporarily grant more powers to the executive and law enforcement agencies. Examples include warrant-less property searches and house arrests, and using electronic tagging for the purposes of surveillance
Open final¶
TH as the Kremlin would commemorate the 1917 Russian Revolution as a tradegy rather than a triumph for the nation.¶
The 1917 Revolutions overthrew the Tsarist regime and were a precursor to the creation of the Soviet Union. In Russia, perception of the revolutions varies and the Kremlin does not have an official position.
EUDC 2016 Warsaw¶
R1¶
R2¶
TH supports Barack Obama’s statements that emphasise African- Americans taking individual responsibility for improving their own position in life¶
R3¶
THW create state-run centres where individuals can purchase and consume psychedelic* drugs *drugs whose primary effect is to alter cognition and perception e.g. LSD and Magic Mushrooms ### R4 #### TH supports strong government intervention to prevent gentrification process when significant numbers of wealthier people move to a poor area ### R5 #### THBT the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra should regularly play the works of Richard Wagner¶
Richard Wagner was a 19th century anti-semitic German composer. His music was favoured by the Nazis and played at the Nuremburg rallies, and reportedly at Nazi death camps. When Wagner’s music was played in Israel, it lead to protests and it remains controversial.
R6¶
TH regrets the mass commercialisation of football¶
R7¶
TH supports Sanctuary Cities in the United States¶
A ‘sanctuary city’, for example San Francisco, does not allow police or city employees (e.g. educators, social, and healthcare workers), to inquite about an individual’s immigration status. These cities do not co-operate with the federal government’s controls on illegal immigrants.
R8¶
THBT Latin American states should provide extensive material support for a military coup against the Venezualan government¶
R9¶
THBT the European Union should fund satirical publications in its member states that target far-right political parties the use of humour and exaggeration to criticize¶
ESL QF¶
THBT Western States should fund the spread of atheism in Iraq through provision of education, health care and welfare¶
ESL SF¶
TH regrets the safe space movement’s attempts to significantly limit speech on university campuses¶
The growing safe space movement has used both social pressure and direct action to achieve its aims. These include, but are not limited to banning certain speakers, and limiting exposure to controversial, and potentially triggering topics.
ESL GF¶
THBT western nations should support breakaway states in former Soviet Union (e.g. East Ukraine or South Ossetia) after free and fair referendum.¶
Open Partial OF¶
TH supports BRICS countries creating alternatives to the current international economic institutions (i.e. the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organisation) Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa¶
Open QF¶
THW require the economic policies of political parties to be approved by an independent panel of experts before being used in campaigns¶
Open SF¶
TH supports Iran’s extension of the Sharia principle of “an eye for an eye” to the victims of acid attacks¶
Recently there has been a high number of acid attacks against women, either due to personal feuds or for their non-conformity to Islamic values. / Iranian courts that are governed by Sharia law ruled that victims have the right to choose to blind their attacker by putting acid in their eye(s).