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Key Terms
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Chicago Debate League
2013/14
Core Files
Key Terms
Researched by Brian Peterson
Edited by Les Lynn
Resolved: The United States federal government
should substantially increase its economic
engagement toward Cuba, Mexico, or Venezuela.
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2013/14 Core Files – Key Terms
Mexico Security
Venezuela Democracy
Cuba Ethanol
Critical Immigration
Corruption Disadvantage
Diplomatic Capital Disadvantage
Politics Disadvantage
China Disadvantage
European Union Counterplan
Neocolonialism Kritik
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Mexico Security
Key People/Terms:
President Enrique Nieto – President of Mexico, elected in 2012. Member of Institutional
Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for over 70 years until 2000. His stated
priorities are transparency and fighting organized crime.
Cartel – Cooperation amongst competitors to control a market, usually by agreeing to
fix prices or shut out uncooperative competitors. In the context of drug trafficking, a
cartel is a loose organization of drug dealers and businesses that tries to control a region
or particular drug trade through violence and manipulation.
Hezbollah – Lebanon-based political party with a powerful military wing which is
accused of terrorism due to its cooperation with Iran and Syria.
Los Zetas – Drug cartel in Mexico, considered to be heavily armed and well-trained in
military operations.
USAID – United States Agency for International Development; the primary federal
government agency responsible for administering economic assistance.
Merida Initiative – security agreement between the United States and Mexico to
combat drug trafficking by sharing technology and intelligence. Originally passed in
2008.
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Venezuela Democracy
Key People/Terms:
Hugo Chavez – former President of Venezuela from 1999 until his recent death in 2013.
He developed close ties with political enemies of the United States such as Russia, Iran,
and Cuba, and pushed for stronger government control of major Venezuelan industries
such as oil and the media.
Nicolas Maduro – newly elected President of Venezuela, and former Vice President
under Hugo Chavez.
Ahmadinejad – former President of Iran from 2005-2013. Conservative leader who
pushed an aggressive Iranian foreign policy designed to increase Iranian global
influence by developing nuclear energy (and possibly weapons) as well as challenging
Israel and the United States.
FARC – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army, a paramilitary
organization considered a terrorist by Colombia’s government as well as the United
States.
Bolivarian Revolution/Chavismo – Political project in Venezuela focusing on increasing
the government’s role in social programs such as healthcare and education, and limiting
private market influence.
Conditional Aid – Foreign assistance from one country to another that is tied to a
behavior change in the receiving country. If the country does not agree, then the aid is
either never given or is taken back.
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Cuba Ethanol
Key People/Terms:
Cellulosic Ethanol/Corn-based Ethanol – Ethanol is an alcohol made from grains or
sugars that can be used as fuel. Cellulosic ethanol comes from sugar, while traditional
ethanol in the United States is made from corn.
Castro Brothers – Fidel Castro was President of Cuba from 1976-2008. He pushed for
communism with Cuba, and often challenged the United States during the Cold War by
siding with the Soviet Union. Raul Castro is Fidel’s brother, who took over as President
in 2008.
Embargo – Cutting off trade in several areas with a specific country in an effort to
encourage behavior changes. The United States has held an embargo on military
equipment, most consumer products, money and tourism against Cuba since 1960.
Nitrous Oxide/Carbon Dioxide – Both are air pollutants and contributors to global
warming by reacting with oxygen in the atmosphere to trap heat near the surface,
resulting in rising global temperatures. Nitrous Oxide is less common but more potent
than Carbon Dioxide.
Keystone Species – Creature lower in the food chain that many other creatures depend
on for food. A species is considered a “keystone” if its extinction would cause a chainreaction to other species that could not adapt.
Fossil Fuels – Fuels that derive from sources that are not replenished naturally, or that
replenish at extremely slow rates. For example, petroleum gasoline and coal have finite
reserves that will run out if used at faster rates than they can be recreated. Renewable
energy comes from fuels that are naturally replenished or do not have limited reserves,
such as solar or wind energy.
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Critical Immigration
Key People/Terms:
Narrative/Testimonio – Narratives are personal stories told to make a particular
political point by showing examples of oppression or struggle. Narratives try to make
politics about individuals and personal suffering rather than about statistics or
impersonal data. “Testimonio” is a culturally specific narrative that is usually from the
point of view of a Latina/o person and related to their ethnicity.
“Other” – Philosophical term used to describe any person or thing that is not like me.
Examples may include people from other ethnic groups or religions, or from another
economic class. The idea of the Other (with a capital ‘O’) helps illustrate how humans
will group people together in order to make them seem less human and more like an
object.
Latina/o – In many parts of this file, you will see “Latina/o” or “Latin@” used. This is
done in order to include both genders in the discussion because writing only Latina or
Latino is too specific and makes assumptions about the people you are reading about or
debating.
Whiteness – Loose term to describe the often unconscious benefits given members of
the dominant racial group, as well as the collective oppressive force of racism on
minorities. Being a part of “Whiteness” does not require that you be racially caucausian,
nor does it mean that you are actively or knowingly racist. The benefits and harms of
Whiteness usually occur through “neutral” interactions like immigration requirements
or college admissions tests, where certain groups tend to receive more benefits (or more
rejection) than others in ways that can be tied to race.
Framing/Framework – Framing is the way that certain word choices or phrases are
used to manipulate people’s responses; if an argument is framed one way, it has a
completely different effect than if the same argument is framed differently. For example,
asking if people support a fair division of resources will generally create positive
responses, while asking if people support communism will generally create negative
responses even though the questions are substantively similar.
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Corruption Disadvantage
Key People/Terms:
Corruption – Making political/business decisions based on personal gain rather than on
the best outcome for the people being served. For example, business leaders might
choose to promote a relative rather than the best candidate, or political leaders might
give contracts to companies they invest in rather than to the one that will do the best job.
Foreign Assistance – Financial aid from the government of one country to the
government of another country. This can either be as cash itself, or as material goods
such as equipment or food.
Transparency – The ability for outside-parties, such as monitors or other groups, to
examine how governments and businesses make decisions. A more transparent
government will provide documents and information quickly and without edits; a more
corrupt government will not provide additional information or explain why decisions
are made.
Moral Hazard – Philosophical idea that people are more likely to make poor or risky
decisions if they think someone else will eventually help them out. For example, you
might be more likely to bet a lot of money at a casino if you think your parents will help
you pay your bills this month. For governments, leaders are more likely to make risky
decisions if they think other countries will bail them out if the decision goes poorly.
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Diplomatic Capital Disadvantage
Key People/Terms:
Diplomatic Capital – A government’s resources for dealing with foreign policy issues.
These could include the people necessary to engage in diplomacy, as well as the time and
financial resources needed to finish deals and agreements.
John Kerry – United States’ Secretary of State; the primary government official for
negotiating agreements and deals with other countries, and the person who reports
directly to President Obama on all foreign policy and diplomacy questions.
Middle East Peace Process – Ongoing negotiations and conflict between the country of
Israel and the Palestinian Authority to determine land boundaries and rights between
the two groups. Both sides claim ownership of areas such as the West Bank, and
conflicts arise over suspected support for terrorism or human rights abuses.
Netanyahu/Abbas – Benjamin Netanyahu is the Prime Minister of Israel, and
Mahmoud Abbas is the President of the Palestinian National Authority. These are the
two primary negotiators involved in the Peace Process.
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Politics Disadvantage
Key People/Terms:
Political Capital – The resources a politician has for promoting her agenda. These might
include favors or debts that other politicians owe, or the time needed to physically
campaign for an issue. Political Capital is an abstract idea, because most of the resources
a politician needs are not physical things like money or items.
Environmental Protection Agency – The agency of the United States federal
government responsible for issuing regulations against private businesses and citizens
regarding uses and abuses of the environment. This agency is in the Executive branch,
and follows the policies of the current president.
Winners Win – The political idea that politicians want to align themselves with a strong
leader, and will side with what they feel will be the “winning” side on any issue to avoid
looking weak. In debate, the argument is usually that the President will look strong after
forcing through a controversial policy, and this will cause other politicians to want to
work with the President in the future.
Midterm Elections – Elections for United States Congress that occur when a
Presidential election is not occurring. For example, in 2014 there will be a national
election for every candidate in the House of Representatives, and also for many in the
Senate. Politicians will often decide how to vote on important issues based on whether
they think that issue will help them win or lose in the next election.
Greenhouse Effect – The theory that gases in the atmosphere, such as Nitrous Oxide and
Carbon Dioxide, absorb and radiate heat back toward the earth’s surface. This keeps the
temperatures high and rising, much like a greenhouse traps in heat to help plants grow.
If more gases collect in the atmosphere, the theory argues that more heat will be
retained near the surface and temperatures will continue to rise.
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China Disadvantage
Key People/Terms:
Peaceful Rise – Phrase used by Chinese government officials to describe their foreign
policy, which is attempting to improve diplomacy and soft power and rely less on
aggression and military actions.
Balancing/Hegemony – Hegemony is the idea that a single country can become so
powerful in either military, economic, or diplomatic affairs that it can control what other
countries are able to do. Many consider the United States to be a global hegemon
because of its huge economy and military power. When one country becomes too
powerful, “balancing theory” says that other countries will start working together to
challenge the lead country. As an illustration, imagine two or three small kids getting
together on a see-saw to “balance” an adult on the other side.
China/Taiwan – Island state off the coast of China that considers itself independent
from mainland China, while China considers the island part of its territory. Both China
and Taiwan campaign internationally for other countries to side with them in the
dispute, and China has threatened to militarily invade the island to settle the issue.
Xi Jinping – President of China since 2012.
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European Union Counterplan
Key People/Terms:
European Union – Governing organization in both economics and politics for 28
countries in Europe, formally established in 1993. Members include Austria, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the
United Kingdom.
Soft power – Influence and diplomatic power that a country holds that does not come
from military strength, but instead from economic or cultural strength. Some examples
of United States’ soft power might be the number of countries with McDonald’s or
Starbucks, or the international appeal of U.S. musicians.
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Neocolonialism Kritik
Key People/Terms:
Globalization/Capitalism – Capitalism is the economic theory that free markets allow
corporations and businesses to compete with each other, which will result in the best
products at the lowest prices. Globalization is the process by which capitalist policies
and theories move globally through international trade. Critics of these argue that
capitalism and globalization only benefit economic elites, and that the “free market”
never works perfectly.
Neocolonialism – Colonialism was the practice of countries setting up colonies, or
settlements in other parts of the world, in order to claim or capture new resources. For
example, the United States was once a set of colonies of England. Neocolonialism is
when countries, usually wealthy and capitalist, use economic pressure to manipulate
smaller countries into making decisions that benefit the larger country.
Neoliberalism – Classical liberalism is the political philosophy that emphasizes
individual rights and liberties, and holds that all people are “autonomous” or capable of
making their own decisions free from outside interference. Neoliberalism is when
countries use that logic to enforce or promote capitalism by using “human rights
protections” as excuses for intervening in other countries’ affairs.
North/South – This is a simple way of referring to the split between rich, typically
capitalist countries residing in the Northern hemisphere and poorer, typically noncapitalist countries in the Southern hemisphere. As with any simple designation, it is not
entirely accurate.
Consequentialism – The ethical theory that individuals should factor in the
consequences, or effects of their actions on other people, when determining whether
something is ethical. A classic ethical question involves a sinking boat that has 3 people
in it; a strict moralist would argue that throwing one person out of the boat (where they
would drown) is always the wrong choice because murder is always wrong. A
consequentialist would argue that allowing the boat to sink results in 3 deaths and is
thus a worse ethical choice, and that throwing 1 person off the boat saves 2 lives. Critics
of consequentialism argue that it makes ethical decisions impossible because of all the
potential effects on all the potential people, and that it removes humanity and personal
ethics from decisions by focusing on outcomes rather than on the immediate people and
suffering involved.
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