The Mensheviks and Bolsheviks were the two main factions of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) that split in 1903. The Mensheviks, lead by Julius Martov and George Plekhanov, were a large, open, democratic party formed from the union of working class and middle-class liberal allies. In contrast, the Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a small, highly disciplined group of professional revolutionaries formed from a union of the working class and poor peasantry. The Mensheviks said the communist revolution first needed to undergo a bourgeois capitalist revolution before transitioning to a communist state, whereas the Bolsheviks favoured a direct transition, skipping capitalism. The Mensheviks aimed to pursue federalist and democratic means to develop the agricultural base of the early USSR whereas the Bolsheviks favoured centralised, authoritarian rule to rapidly industrialise Russia. Further, they differed ideologically on their global outlook for socialism with the Mensheviks favouring the expansion of social democracies through the world, as opposed to the Bolsheviks who favoured exporting revolutionary communism. 

For the 2028 US Presidential election there are a variety of candidates vying for the Democratic Party nomination. Some front runners in the polls include Kamala Harris, Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Jon Ossoff and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez. 

The Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress refers to the Chinese legislation (enacted on July 1st, 2026) that provides a legal framework for promoting ethnic unity. The law aims to strengthen a shared Chinese national identity (e.g., promoting Zhonghua traditional culture, symbology, standard Chinese language in preschool), encouraging inter-ethnic integration (e.g., obligation for inclusion in religious groups military), and combating activities deemed harmful to ethnic unity (e.g., baring blocking marriages on ethnic groups, dissemination of online ethnic hatred). The legislation applies to physical and legal persons no longer within China who violate the law. 

For the purposes of this debate, 'Professionalisation' refers to the shift in universities from institutions focused predominately on knowledge generation and selective teaching to knowledge dissemination and training. Professionalisation has seen the increase in formalising, standardising and streamlining pedagogy (e.g., courses focused on economic viability and outcome employability) and an increases in the formal university responsibilities placed upon academics. 

For the purposes of this debate, 'Family Values' relates to norms about how families and communities should interact and support each other (e.g., weekly dinners, chores, piety to parents and elders).

In recent years, many video game publishers have abandoned the pricing model for video games (where you purchase a video game at a set price) for a 'free to play' model. In a free-to-play model, the base game can be downloaded and played without charge. Revenue is generated through optional in-game purchases, which may include cosmetic items, additional content, convenience features or gameplay advantages, depending on the game.