1. MECHANISMS Speaker’s Development, Week 4 Karolien Michiels

2. What is a Mechanism?  In most debates, THW do something  Which begs the question: how are you going to do it?  How = mechanism  Needs to be concise and clear  Not every motion needs an elaborate mec

3. Exercise 1: What is a Mec?  Give mechanisms for the following motions  THW ban prostitution  THW make voting compulsory  THW ban abortion  THBT everyone should vote for the Green Party  THBT NATO should unconditionally offer membership to the states of the former Soviet Union, excluding Russia  THW take lifestyle choices into account in the allocation of scarce medical resources

4. Who does it?  Job of the Prime Minister to clarify the mechanism  No-one else contradicts the mec or changes it  Deputy Prime Minister is allowed to clarify (but not change, and you won’t get points for your DPM doing it)  Opposition: if the mec is missing, point this out, than deal with a plausible case  Second Proposition: if you don’t like the mec, tough luck

5. Why does it matter?  A good mechanism makes for a clear debate  A bad mechanism makes for a confused debate and we will blame First Prop  Your mechanism is a tactical weapon and massive First Prop advantage – use it to define the debate on your terms!

6. The Mechanism as a Strategic Tool  By narrowing the scope of the debate you have less to defend, but your impact might be smaller and you might not be consistent in your principles  By widening the scope of the debate you have to defend more, but your impact is bigger and it is easier to be consistent in your principles  You have to stay fair: debate spirit of the motion (not just some weird exception you came up with)  General rule: ‘mec away’ very difficult issues, keep everything else + be clear

7. Exercise 2: Different Mechanisms  Think of three different mechanisms for these motions  Which mechanism would you pick and why?  THW close the UK borders  THW criminalise adultery  As the UK, THW aggressively fight ebola  THW prefer David Attenborough over Louis Theroux as Prime Minister