Tournament: NA | Round: 1 | Opponent: NA | Judge: NA
Feel free to email me at robert.danco1@gmail.com if there are any questions!

Tournament: Georgetown | Round: 2 | Opponent: Carrollton GR | Judge: Austin Woodruff
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Tournament: Georgetown | Round: 2 | Opponent: Carrollton GR | Judge: Austin Woodruff

1ac plan

The executive branch of the United States federal government should offer to ease restrictions on general licenses for non-tourist travel between the United States and Cuba.

1ac engagement

Contention 1 is ENGAGEMENT

Migration talks with Cuba are ongoing – but de-linking is key to progress

López-Levy 13 (Arturo López-Levy, lecturer and Ph.D. candidate, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, former political analyst for the Cuban government, M.A. International Affairs, Columbia University, M.A. Economics, Carleton University, "The Cuban Cargo Caper," The National Interest, 7-26-2013, http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/the-cuban-cargo-caper-8782)
Earlier this month, Panamanian security forces seized an undeclared stash of weapons aboard the
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with more of the same. Hopefully it will remain on that course.

Offering to ease travel restrictions spurs cooperation on mutual interests – like the environment and disaster prevention

García Iturbe 13 (Dr. Néstor García Iturbe, leading academic and foreign affairs expert of the Cuban Communist Party, "What should Obama do? The view from Cuba," International Institute for the Study of Cuba, 2-18-2013, http://cubastudies.org/what-should-obama-do-the-view-from-cuba/)
Cuba’s official position¶ The revolutionary government of Cuba has always shown interest in the
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immigration regulations, to which the United States will surely have to respond.

That’s because the plan doesn’t try to change interests – just insulates disagreements

Rueckert 13 (Phineas Rueckert, Research Associate at the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, "U.S.-Cuba Mail and Migration Talks: Opportunities and Limitations of Mutual Interest Cooperation," Council on Hemispheric Affairs, 7-3-2013, http://www.coha.org/u-s-cuba-mail-and-migration-talks-opportunities-and-limitations-of-mutual-interest-cooperation/)
On June 18-19, Cuban and U.S. diplomats met with
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a rapprochement will continue to be slow, uneven, and ultimately insufficient.

Improving environmental cooperation is key to global sustainable development AND environmental leadership

Conell 9 (Christina Conell, Research Associate, Council on Hemispheric Affairs, M.P.P. Public Policy, University of Virginia, B.A. Latin American Studies, Spanish Language, University of Virginia, "The U.S. and Cuba: Destined to be an Environmental Duo?" 6-12-2009, http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/)-http://www.coha.org/the-us-and-cuba-an-environmental-duo/)//TL
•Cuba’s abundant natural resources need to be protected with heightened vigilance ¶ •Lifting
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based on mutual respect and the autonomy of each country’s sovereignty and traditions.

Ecological resiliency is at the tipping point – sustainable development is key to survival

UNDP 12 (United Nations Development Programme, Biodiversity and Ecosystems Team, guided by senior management in UNDP, "The Future We Want: Biodiversity and Ecosystems—Driving Sustainable Development; United Nations Development Programme Biodiversity and Ecosystems Global Framework 2012-2020," 2012, p.13, http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Environment20and20Energy/biodiversity/UNDP-Biodiversity-and-Ecosystems-Global-Framework-2012-2020.pdf)
Human survival and wellbeing depend upon biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, and the goods and
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, and in institutions, attitudes, and decision-making processes.vii

Regardless, perception of U.S. leadership spurs global action – checks short-term extinction

Khosla 9 (Ashok Khosla, President, International Union for Conservation of Nature, former Director, United Nations Environment Programme, recipient of the 2002 Sasakawa Prize, the Nobel Prize of the environmental community, authored over 300 professional papers, including 30 official UNEP documents, Ph.D. experimental physics, Harvard University, "A new President for the United States: We have a dream," 1-27-2009, http://www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?2595/new-President-for-the-United-States-We-have-a-dream)
With all the fanfare and show business skills they possess, Americans last week welcomed
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us have no longer a choice: just as clearly, we must.

Independently, cooperation on travel is key to data sharing and global pandemic containment

Discovery News 13 (Discovery News, "Could Cuba Help U.S. Fight Tropical Diseases?" 2-11-2013, http://news.discovery.com/human/cuba-help-fight-tropical-diseases-dengue-fever.htm)
When it comes to issues like the spread of infectious disease, increased collaboration with
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of obtaining important medical data or learning new methods for curbing an epidemic.¶ 

Lack of Cuban medical data ensures containment failure – the only country which doesn’t report

Porcelain 13 (Sherri L. Porcelain, Adjunct Professor and Senior Lecturer in Global Public Health in World Affairs, and Director of the Disaster Research Program for Global Public Health, Department of International Studies, Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies, and Instructor, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Ph.D. International Relations, International Development, and International Health Policy, University of Miami, Masters in Public Health, University of Miami, Certification in Primary Health Care Strategies in Developing Countries, University of London, Certification in Disaster Assistance Response Team Field Assessment Training, Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance / USAID, "Cuba’s Silence is Dangerous to Your Health," Focus on Cuba, Iss.197, 8-5-2013, http://ctp.iccas.miami.edu/FOCUS_Web/Issue197.htm)
After a century hiatus, cholera, malaria and dengue have returned to Cuba.
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puts everyone at risk. Consequently, silence is dangerous to your health.

Drug-resistant pandemics are inevitable and have an invisible threshold

Conniff 13 (Richard Conniff, science journalist, writes for Time, Smithsonian, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, Audubon Magazine, included in The Best American Science and Nature Writing in 2000, 2002, and 2006, Guggenheim Fellowship, Loeb Journalism Award, "Guardians Against a Global Pandemic: Inside the battle to protect all of us from the next Superbug," Men’s Health, 4-8-2013, http://www.menshealth.com/health/guardians-against-global-pandemic?fullpage=true)
Last September, a 49-year-old Qatari man who’d recently traveled to
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. Cetron calls the "invisible infrastructure" of disease prevention ever falters.

The impact is extinction – reporting and containment are key

Collins 10 (Brenda Collins, Science Writer at Henry M. Jackson Foundation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes for Health, former Adjunct Professor of Microbiology, Marymount University, Ph.D. Microbiology, Meharry Medical College, B.A. Biology, University of Evansville, "The perfect microbial storm," Baltimore Biology Examiner, 4-8-2010, http://www.examiner.com/article/the-perfect-microbial-storm)
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), infectious diseases
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activities to areas of concern should greatly impact the prevention of disease emergence.

1ac enforcement

Contention 2 is ENFORCEMENT:

Massive sanctions licensing and investigation backlogs are resulting in enforcement failures now – collapses financial intelligence and risks WMD proliferation in the immediate term

Levin, et al 12 (Carl Levin, senior U.S. Senator (D) Michigan, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services, former special assistant attorney general, Michigan Attorney General’s Office, graduate of Swarthmore College and Harvard Law School; Tom Coburn, junior Senator (R) Oklahoma, M.D. University of Oklahoma Medical School, B.S. Accounting, Oklahoma State University; David S. Cohen, Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, U.S. Department of the Treasury, former attorney at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP, specializing in defense of regulatory investigations into financial fraud and anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, J.D. Yale Law School, B.A. Cornell University; Leigh H. Winchell, Assistant Director for Programs, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security; "U.S. Vulnerabilities to Money Laundering, Drugs, and Terrorist Financing: HSBC Case History," testimony before the U.S. Senate, Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 7-17-2012, http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112shrg76061/html/CHRG-112shrg76061.htm)
OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR LEVIN¶ Senator Levin. Good morning, everybody. Today’s
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we ¶ look to handle this.¶ Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

The plan is key to resolve enforcement backlogs and generate effective financial intelligence

Landau French 9 (Anya Landau French, Director for the U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation, former Senior Fellow at the Lexington Institute, former International Trade Advisor to Chairman Max Baucus, Senate Finance Committee, M.A. International Education, George Washington University, B.A. English, "Options for Engagement: A Resource Guide for Reforming U.S. Policy toward Cuba," Lexington Institute, April 2009, pp.42-43, http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/library/resources/documents/Cuba/ResearchProducts/options-for-engagement.pdf)
Allocation of security resources to administer travel controls¶ In 2003, the top Republican
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, criminals, and ¶ other inadmissible aliens from entering the country."193

That’s key to disrupting AND deterring WMD proliferation – prerequisite to all counter-measures

Passas 12 (Nikos Passas, Professor at Northeastern University, specializes in the study of corruption, terrorism, money laundering, targeted sanctions, organized and international crimes, Editor-in-Chief of Crime, Law and Social Change: An International Journal, member of the Board of Directors of the International Society of Criminology, J.D. University of Athens, Ph.D. University of Edinburgh, M.A. University of Paris II, "Financial Controls and Counter-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction," Case Western Reserve University Journal of International Law, 44(3), 6-3-2012, http://law.case.edu/journals/JIL/Documents/(11)20Passas20Corrected.pdf)
Neither the use of financial sanctions as a tool to apply pressure on governments nor
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of crime and security threats; and leading to pragmatic, sustainable strategies.

Current risks are ahistorical – cascading breakouts AND non-state acquisition make deliberate AND accidental nuclear conflict inevitable

Heisbourg 12 (François Heisbourg, Chairman, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Chairman, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Special Adviser, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, Member, International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, former First Secretary, French Permanent Mission to the United Nations, dealing with international security and disarmament issues, former Professor of World Politics, Sciences-Po Paris, "Nuclear Proliferation – Looking Back, Thinking Ahead: How Bad Would the Further Spread of Nuclear Weapons Be?" 3-4-2012, http://www.npolicy.org/article_file/Nuclear_Proliferation_-_Looking_Back_Thinking_Ahead_How_Bad_Would_the_Further_Spread_of_Nuclear_Weapons_Be.pdf)
SUMMARY: a re-visit of past proliferation helps understand the¶ dangers of
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two countries is substantial, above and beyond the intentions of government officials.

Optimists are wrong – cascading prolif ensures extinction

Kroenig 12 (Matthew Kroenig, Assistant Professor of Government, Georgetown University, Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, former CFR International Affairs Fellow in the Department of Defense, former strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Ph.D., M.A. Political Science, University of California Berkeley, A.B. History, University of Missouri, "The History of Proliferation Optimism: Does It Have A Future?" Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, 5-26-2012, http://www.npolicy.org/article.php?aid=118226tid=30-http://www.npolicy.org/article.php?aid=118226tid=30)
Proliferation Optimism: Proliferation optimism was revived in the academy in Kenneth Waltz’s 1979 book
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that a future Middle East crisis could result in a devastating nuclear exchange. 

AND, bioweapons acquisition and weaponization are increasingly likely – enforcement is key

Danzig 5 (Richard Danzig, consultant to the U.S. government on biological terrorism, former Secretary of the Navy, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Center for New American Security, Senior Advisor and Nunn Prize Fellow, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Senior Fellow at the Center for Naval Analyses, Trustee of the RAND Corporation, member of the Department of Defense Policy Board, the U.S. Military European Command Advisory Board, and the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, Bachelor of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy, Oxford University, Rhodes Scholar, J.D. Yale Law School, B.A., Reed College, "Proliferation of Biological Weapons into Terrorist Hands," in The Challenge of Proliferation: A Report from the Aspen Strategy Group, ed. Kurt M. Campbell, The Aspen Institute, 2005, http://www.aspeninstitute.org/sites/default/files/content/docs/asg/asgdanzigchallenge.pdf)
Because of their relative ease of purchase and development, biological weapons have been called
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-proliferation initiatives will likely fail¶ against a determined and resourceful adversary.

Attempts are likely in the next few months

Green 13 (J.J. Green, National Security Correspondent, WTOP, reports daily on intelligence, foreign policy, terrorism and global security, contributor to Jane’s Intelligence Review, formerly embedded with the U.S. military in Afghanistan three times and embedded with the U.S. Air Force in Iraq, recipient of the 2009 National Edward R. Murrow Award, as well as more than two dozen regional and local awards, graduated magna cum laude, Hampton University, "Counterterrorism agency working against the clock," WTOP, 2-19-2013, http://www.wtop.com/41/3228148/Counterterrorism-agency-working-against-the-clock)
Matthew Olsen swung open his door shortly after 3 p.m. More than
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Even with more awareness, there seems to be less time to act.

Impact is extinction – no burnout

Sandberg, et al 8 (Anders Sandberg, Research Fellow, Future of Humanity Institute, Oxford University; Jason G. Matheny, Ph.D. candidate, Health Policy and Management, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, special consultant, Center for Biosecurity, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; and Milan M. ?irkovi?, Senior Research Associate, Astronomical Observatory of Belgrade, Assistant Professor of Physics, University of Novi Sad, Serbia and Montenegro; "How can we reduce the risk of human extinction?" Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 9-8-2008, http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/how-can-we-reduce-the-risk-of-human-extinction-http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/how-can-we-reduce-the-risk-of-human-extinction)
The risks from anthropogenic hazards appear at present larger than those from natural ones.
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may increase as biotechnologies continue to improve at a rate rivaling Moore’s Law.

1ac solvency

Contention 3 is SOLVENCY:

The executive can unilaterally ease restrictions on non-tourist travel

Sullivan 12 (Mark P. Sullivan, Specialist in Latin American Affairs, Congressional Research Service, "Cuba: U.S. Restrictions on Travel and Remittances," CRS Report for Congress RL31139, 11-9-2012, http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/RL31139.pdf)
Overview of the U.S. Restrictions¶ Since the United States imposed a
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to expand categories of travel to Cuba or lift travel restrictions¶ altogether.

Travel is increasing – no offense

Gibson 13 (William E. Gibson, Sun-Sentinel’s Washington bureau chief for 25 years, has covered six presidential elections and 13 sessions of Congress, studied journalism at the University of Kansas and Columbia University, "Jay-Z and Beyoncé tour stokes desire to visit Cuba," Sun-Sentinel, 6-2-2013, http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-cuba-travel-congressional-push-20130602,0,7448204.story)
Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s controversial trip to Cuba four weeks ago has stoked public
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50 years hasn’t improved that situation. We need to try something new."

This avoids AND empirically denies any turns – simply returns to Clinton-era policy

Gibson 10 (William E. Gibson, Sun-Sentinel’s Washington bureau chief for 25 years, has covered six presidential elections and 13 sessions of Congress, studied journalism at the University of Kansas and Columbia University, "Cuba travel promoters gear up," Sun-Sentinel, 9-2-2010, http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/news/politics/dcblog/2010/09/cuba_travel_promoters_gear_up_1.html)
The unofficial word in Washington is that the Obama administration plans
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Step toward closer engagement with Florida’s estranged neighbor.

Tournament: MBA | Round: 1 | Opponent: Caddo Magnet MC | Judge: Bruce Miller
1ac reconciliation

Contention 1 is RECONCILIATION:

Consensus is impossible within Cuban politics – a diverse variety of factions are stuck in a state of memory-war, each seeking to universalize political preferences through the construction of competing historical narratives to deny legitimacy to opposing opinions and assign blame for historical tragedy – this process antagonizes disagreements and guarantees perpetual conflict

We need to foster a more forgiving method for advocacy – facilitate engagement rather than isolation – in which all interested parties can realize their ability to affect change and be changed through open discussion and debate

Rojas 7 (Rafael Rojas, 2011-2012 Princeton Global Scholar, teaches at the Center for Economic Research and Teaching (Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economicas/CIDE), Mexico City, former visiting professor at Princeton and Columbia, "Chapter 15: Diaspora and Memory in Cuban Literature," translated by John Miller and Fernando Feliu-Moggi, in Cuba: Idea of a Nation Displaced, ed. Andrea O’Reilly Herrera, SUNY Press, 2007, pp.237-250, Project MUSE)
The Italian philosopher Mauricio Ferraris dedicated a complete treatise to showing the close relationship between
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in exchange for being recognized, fully, as legitimate subjects of history.

Advocating the removal of restrictions on travel is necessary to facilitate this method of political reconciliation – we cannot and should not try to prevent transnational coalitions from engaging one another in public fora

Lopez-Levy 10 (Arturo Lopez-Levy, lecturer and doctoral candidate at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies of the University of Denver, M.A. International Affairs, Columbia University, M.A. Economics, Carleton University, "Reflections on National Reconciliation," June 2010, http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/library/resources/documents/cuba/cuban-triangle/lopezlevy0610.pdf-http://www.lexingtoninstitute.org/library/resources/documents/cuba/cuban-triangle/lopezlevy0610.pdf)
The beginning of a new millennium in Cuba and its Diaspora has generated a favorable
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¶ focus ourselves like laser beams on undermining travel restrictions in both countries. 

Reconciliation does NOT mean an end to disagreement NOR an endorsement of any particular outcome – but rather an ongoing process which employs social inclusion to redirect political conflict toward non-violent means – this is vital to break the cycle of perpetual violence

Pérez-Stable, et al 3 (Marifeli Pérez-Stable, Professor of Sociology, Florida International University, Coordinator, Task Force on Memory, Truth, and Justice, Latin American and Caribbean Center, FIU, "Cuban National Reconciliation," 3-24-2003, pp.33-70, http://memoria.fiu.edu/memoria/documents/Book_English.pdf)
Until the late 1970s, the breach between Cubans on the island and in¶
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our hearts, we offer readers the report, Cuban National¶ Reconciliation.

Our method is supported by robust empirical and interdisciplinary research – promoting forgiveness through reconciliation is vital to sustain peacebuilding through non-violent conflict – resolves episodic AND structural violence

Kalayjian 26 Paloutzian 9 (Ani Kalayjian, Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Fordham University
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Springer New York, 2009, locations 401-571, Kindle Edition)
Throughout the world, we continue to see violent outbreaks between individuals and groups.
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of men and womyn. We hope these authors’ writings promote positive peace.

We must prioritize analysis of the ways in which our methods of advocacy affect public decision-making – the most impactful forms of violence are obscured by cognitive biases in information processing and dissemination

Nixon 10 (Rob, Rachel Carson Professor of English, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, pp 1-14)
When Lawrence Summers, then president of the World Bank, advocated thai the bank
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how our rhetorical conventions for bracketing violence routinely ignore ongoing, belated casualties.

1ac advocacy statement

Robert and I are committed to opening space for agonistic debate within and between political communities, and therefore advocate that the United States federal government should ease restrictions on travel between the United States and Cuba.

1ac advocacy

Contention 2 is ADVOCACY:

The idea of achieving consensus in the debate community is similarly impossible and undesirable in the face of overwhelming diversity of viewpoints, experiences, and goals for participation –

Antagonism is increasing due to attempts to universalize individual experiences or preferences– this process results in escalating psychological and social violence

Debates should NOT focus on achieving desirable outcomes but instead on preserving a forgiving process sufficiently open to disagreement that all can benefit – the ballot is key

Crosswhite 2 (James Crosswhite, Professor, Department of English, University of Oregon, Ph.D. Philosophy, UC San Diego, B.A. Philosophy, UC Santa Cruz, "Conflict in Concert: Fighting Hannah Arendt’s Good Fight," JAC, 22(4), Fall 2002, pp.948-959, http://www.jaconlinejournal.com/archives/vol22.4/crosswhite-conflict.pdf)
Early in her essay, and again at the end, Roberts-Miller shakes
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has¶ my fighting gratitude for making such a thought-provoking case.

Our model for agonistic pluralism in topic debates is NOT an unfocused free-for-all NOR a naïve plea to "all get along" – it’s simply a recognition that advocacy campaigns for increasing economic engagement already take a variety of forms – many are inclusive of federal policy change but few are restricted to it – only a pedagogy which facilitate engagement between diverse forms of advocacy can produce trans-national coalitions capable of effecting political action across global borders

Erfani 26 Whitmire 11 (Farhang Erfani, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and
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Lexginton Books, 2011, pp.61-80, Kindle Edition)
How can Ricoeur aid us in understanding and dealing with the phenomenon of globalization?
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that allows for genuine political agency on the part of a global citizenry.

There is no single root or proximate cause of global problems, and no hard and fast solution – only advocacy models grounded in agonistic pluralism can develop methods for non-violent reconciliation of domestic and international conflicts

SEP 11 (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "Paul Ricoeur," first published 11-11-2002, substantive revision 4-18-2011, http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ricoeur/~~233.7)
3.7 Politics For Ricoeur, as for Aristotle, the political institution is
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genuine¶ politics from the threats to which it is always¶ subject.