Politics is the art of making decisions, and a central aspect to democratic governance is political debate. Debates allow voters to compare and evaluate the policies and positions of candidates for public office. While the results of a political debate are not always decisive, they can often play an important role in shaping voter opinion and behavior. The 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate is credited with changing the course of American politics, and subsequent major debates have influenced election results.
The structure of a political debate is determined by the rules and format that are agreed to before the event takes place. The format includes the order of speaking and topics to be discussed. A debate may also include an adjudicator or moderator who will ensure that all participants adhere to the rules of the event. Debate formats are structured to limit the amount of time a single speaker will be allowed to speak. During the 18th century, debating societies emerged in London to encourage public discussion of political topics.
In the field of environmental policy, there is a tendency to frame policy debates as a choice between “for it” and “against it.” However, most restoration projects take place along a continuum, with some areas being closer to a more natural state while others will be further away from that goal. The choice between where on the continuum to restore is framed by values, costs, and technical capabilities.
Another overarching continuum that frames environmental policy debate is health risk, with lower risks on one end and higher risks on the other. There are a variety of sophisticated statistics-based tools that can be used to technically frame this type of debate, and the evidence that should be considered when making policy is usually presented in terms of risk-benefit ratios (e.g., cases per 100,000-population).