A Pole figures in argument or controversy (7)
I believe the answer is:
polemic
'controversy' is the definition.
(polemic is a kind of controversy)
'a pole figures in argument' is the wordplay.
'figures in argument' becomes 'mic' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'pole'+'mic'='POLEMIC'
'or' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for polemic that I've seen before include "Involving dispute or controversy" , "Controversial writing or oratory" , "Contentious" , "Fierce spoken or written attack" , "Controversy, argument" .)