Extemp Topics

NFHS EXTEMPORANEOUS SPEAKING TOPICS 

December 2020 

Domestic 

Closed-Ended 

1. Is Kamala Harris the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate for 2024?

2. Will Donald Trump mount another presidential campaign in 2024? 

3. Will rising COVID numbers disrupt the economy again in early 2021? 

4. Will backlash against the election of Joe Biden result in an increase in violence from the  political right? 

5. Will US-China relations improve in 2021? 

6. Will interest in renewable energy business surge with the arrival of a new presidential  administration? 

7. Do United States hospitals have the capacity to handle surging numbers of COVID-19  hospitalizations? 

8. Will President Biden increase regulation of Wall Street firms during his presidency?

9. Will the family of Ahmaud Arbery get the justice they seek for his killing?

10. Do “Murder Hornets” pose a real threat to American ecosystems? 

11. Will President Trump accelerate his withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan?

12. Should Congress mandate processes to ensure smooth transitions between presidents? 

Open-Ended 

1. What must the Democratic Party do to capture the two open Senate seats in the upcoming  Georgia runoff election? 

2. What will Trump family members do to remain politically relevant after the President’s  defeat? 

3. What strategies can Americans expect from the Biden administration in combatting COVID 19? 

4. What must American leaders do to convince the public to take a forthcoming COVID-19  vaccine? 

5. What explains the variance between polling numbers and actual results in the 2020  elections? 

6. What do recent public statements by members of the US Supreme Court suggest about the  direction of the Court in future decisions? 

7. What impact would a US return to the Paris Climate accord mean for the struggle to  combat climate change? 

8. What steps can be taken to improve the effectiveness and reliability of America’s electoral  system? 

9. What steps can teachers’ unions take to counter fears that their members’ interests run  counter to those of parents and children, as some political figures have asserted? 

10. What steps must the two major political parties take to forge bipartisanship in  government? 

11. Who deserves the greatest credit for turning Georgia blue in the 2020 elections?

12. In the present political climate, how might a viable third party emerge in the United States?

13. Who will likely get the nod to be the next Secretary of Education? 

International Questions 

Closed-Ended 

1. Can Luis Arce bring stability to the Bolivian government? 

2. Is Aung San Suu Kyi’s victory good for Myanmar? 

3. Is Kyrgyzstan’s democracy in jeopardy with the ascension of its new president?

4. Can Japan reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050? 

5. Has Hong Kong’s legislature become too weak to be impactful in the life of the country?

6. Can China succeed in its goal of creating a fully domestic supply chain? 

7. Has China’s handling of COVID-19 helped or hurt the country’s global reputation?

8. Can Ethiopia avoid a civil war? 

9. Will the end of the weapons embargo on Iran increase the threat posed by the country?

10. Will the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan hold? 

11. Is jihadism on the decline? 

12. Can Mikheil Saakashvili make a political comeback in Georgia? 

13. Could threats of boycott endanger the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022?

Open-Ended 

1. How will wildfires in South America’s Pantanal wetlands impact the global environment?

2. How will Peru’s ouster of Martin Vizcarra as president impact the country’s stability?

3. What economic reforms must Cuba undertake to put goods back on Cuban shelves?

4. What steps should the government of Bangladesh take to crush corruption?

5. What is the significance of the death of Saeb Erekat for the cause of Palestinian statehood?

6. What is the significance of Sudan’s decision to recognize the State of Israel?

7. How might a devolution strategy help or hurt Spain’s central government?

8. How can the protest movement in Belarus force the country’s dictator from power?

9. What must NATO do to counter an increasingly strong Russian military? 

10. What can the international community do in response to Turkey’s increased repression of  Kurdish leaders? 

11. What would it take for the nations of the European Union to develop a common culture?

12. What steps can the world community take to curb illegal fishing in the world’s seas?