Debatermaus

(Apologies to Johann Strauss.) Debatabase ( http://www.debatabase.org/ ) is a site with a database that covers a variety of debating topics. You can search or browse the site.

If you want to browse the site, you can either view the complete topic list (159 topics from Abortion to Zoos) or view a list of themes that organizes the topics (Education, Sport, Crime, Law, Health, etc.)

If you want to search, you can search by keyword at the top of the main page. A search for "politics" found four results. Results include the name of the topic, the date created and last updated, and the question in contention ( for example, "Should developed countries force developing countries to protect the environment by making it a condition of aid?")

Click on the topic and you'll be taken to another page. The page has context for the question, pros and cons for the argument, Web links, further readings, the themes where the question can be found, and related topics. There's also a spot at the bottom of the page where readers can comment on the debate. (Comments aren't being accepted right now, but there are some archived comments available.)

Also on this site are lists of Web links (based on the same themes that organize the debate questions) and a Russian version of the site. Worth a look if you're interested in debating.

Posted to Humanities-Debate