A common discussion in the UK around the time of elections is whether we should follow the lead of the US and have debates between leading candidates on television. This has always been resisted, usually on the grounds that debate is done in the House of Commons, and that is televised anyway (see Blair resists EU debate from April this year)...
But above and beyond domestic politics, what about international televised debates between country's leaders, something which emerged before the start of the (second) Gulf War, when Saddam challenged Bush to a TV debate. That was always unlikely to happen, but what about a conversation between France and Britain or France and the US? Or between the US president and the leader of the Arab League? And so on......this idea was suggested to the Global Ideas Bank this week: Televised debates between national leaders which hopes that this could "be one small measure to help dissolve the childish black and white thinking that leads to predjudice, hostility and violence".
One would hope so. And it might bring "global" politics alive in countries where the domestic dominates....as well as using the mass media of the world in a much more direct and effective way.
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