The ability to engage in healthy political discourse is a core feature of well-functioning democracies. However, there are many barriers that make it difficult to cultivate this capability, particularly during election cycles and in the context of high-stakes debates. In this article, Alan Renwick and Tom Fieldhouse outline five key elements of healthy discourse and explore steps that can be taken to promote it during debates and beyond.
How Are Candidates Invited to Participate in Debates?
The nonpartisan voter education goal of debates is to afford members of the public an opportunity to sharpen their views, in a focused debate format, of the leading presidential and vice presidential candidates. Debates provide a valuable forum for voters to assess candidates’ visions, platforms, and records as well as the strengths and weaknesses of each candidate.
Debate formats can vary, but typically, a moderator – such as a TV journalist – poses questions to the candidates and manages rebut and response times. In some formats, such as a town hall meeting format, the single moderator is replaced with several people to encourage a more spontaneous exchange.
Debate participants can also present “disadvantages.” A disadvantage is a point that shows the negative consequence that will result from an affirmative argument. For example, if a team is discussing greater spending on education, the negative may argue that increased spending will result in a trade-off with social spending. In order to be successful, a disadvantage must convince the judge that the affirmative argument is net-undesirable.
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