International Relations Debate Topics

This handout provides background guides to four contentious topics in international politics, including: (1) the use of torture, (2) the use of capital punishment, (3) immigration and open borders, and (4) foreign aid requirements.

Each topic comes with a description of the issue and background facts for students unfamiliar with the topic. Sub-questions are also included to get students thinking about arguments related to the topic.

I implemented these debates in my Model UN class and they were a great success!

Note: The handout is formatted so that, in Microsoft Word, one topic appears on each page.