IR
A continental organization comprising 55 member states that represent all the countries on that continent.
African Union
The direct or indirect opposition of arguments in a debate.
clash
The affirmative contentions are called this
The way things are at the current moment in time
status quo
an argument that assumes an insignificant action will lead to a chain reaction of undesirable events.
slippery slope
This naval base, and its enclosed infamous prison facility, is leased from Cuba to the US, though Cuba is not happy with this.
Guantanamo bay
A comparative analysis of all the issues in a debate; an evaluation of their relative probability and impact conducted in order to determine which are most important, and thus, who wins.
weighing
The affirmative defends this
Plan-text
the consequence of an idea that is presented in a debate.
impacts
misrepresenting an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack
strawman
The no longer active nuclear agreement between Iran and China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK, the EU, and the US.
A causal relationship. In formal debates, the relationship of one’s argument to the opponent’s position and the internal chain of reasoning in a complex argument. More specifically, how disadvantages or advantages apply to a proposition team’s case, bridging the gap between the uniqueness and the impacts.
link
A term used to describe the process that allows debate of a proposed plan as if it were already adopted
fiat
A mistaken inference or an erroneous conclusion based on faulty reasoning.
fallacy
rejecting a claim by criticizing the person who makes it rather than the claim itself
appeal to the person (ad hominem)
One states security is another states insecurity
What is the Security Dilemma?
The claim that any benefit or cost is relevant to the advocacy of one side of a debate and can be used to decide favorably for that side or unfavorably against the other side
The thing or reason why someone is not doing something about a plan right now; the cause of a problem’s existence.
inherency
Any of a variety of consequentialist views that claim to maximize good or minimize evil.
utilitarianism
the deliberate raising of an irrelevant issue during an argument
red herring
This treaty, signed between Britain and France during WW1, secretly partitioned their future spheres of influence in the Middle East.
The Sykes-Picot Agreement
An argument that reverses the position of an opponent.
turn
The beginning part of a speech, which addresses definitions, the plan-text, and the weighing mechanism
Top of Case
The view that duty is a primary moral notion and that at least some of our duties do not depend on any value that may result in fulfilling them. In some circumstances, the justification of duties is an appeal to absolute rule.
deontology
the use of a word in two different senses in an argument; can also mean the use of ambiguous language to conceal the truth or to avoid committing oneself
equivocation