Common PF Resolutions Analysis
Recurring topic areas appear in PF resolutions year after year. Learn the core arguments on perennial themes so you start every topic with a foundation.
Patterns in PF Topic Selection
The NSDA's topic selection process produces resolutions that tend to cluster around recurring policy areas. Understanding these patterns means you can build a knowledge base that transfers from topic to topic, giving you a head start every month.
The most frequent categories are US foreign policy (NATO, alliances, sanctions, foreign aid), international trade (tariffs, trade agreements, economic interdependence), domestic policy (education, healthcare, criminal justice), technology and privacy (surveillance, AI regulation, social media), and environmental policy (climate agreements, energy transitions, conservation). Over any two-year cycle, you can expect to see at least one topic from each of these categories.
This means that research done for one topic often has long-term value. If you deeply research US sanctions policy for a November topic, that knowledge base is useful again when a January topic touches on economic statecraft or when a March topic involves US-China relations. Teams that maintain organized research files across topics accumulate a significant advantage over the season.