political science essay competition

Spring & Summer 2024 Admissions Open Now. Sign up for upcoming live information sessions here .

Discourse, debate, and analysis

Cambridge re:think essay competition 2024.

Competition Opens: 15th January, 2024

Essay Submission Deadline: 10th May, 2024 Result Announcement: 20th June, 2024 Award Ceremony and Dinner at the University of Cambridge: 30th July, 2024

We welcome talented high school students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Entry to the competition is free.

About the Competition

The spirit of the Re:think essay competition is to encourage critical thinking and exploration of a wide range of thought-provoking and often controversial topics. The competition covers a diverse array of subjects, from historical and present issues to speculative future scenarios. Participants are invited to engage deeply with these topics, critically analysing their various facets and implications. It promotes intellectual exploration and encourages participants to challenge established norms and beliefs, presenting opportunities to envision alternative futures, consider the consequences of new technologies, and reevaluate longstanding traditions. 

Ultimately, our aim is to create a platform for students and scholars to share their perspectives on pressing issues of the past and future, with the hope of broadening our collective understanding and generating innovative solutions to contemporary challenges. This year’s competition aims to underscore the importance of discourse, debate, and critical analysis in addressing complex societal issues in nine areas, including:

Religion and Politics

Political science and law, linguistics, environment, sociology and philosophy, business and investment, public health and sustainability, biotechonology.

Artificial Intelligence 

Neuroengineering

2024 essay prompts.

This year, the essay prompts are contributed by distinguished professors from Harvard, Brown, UC Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT.

Essay Guidelines and Judging Criteria

Review general guidelines, format guidelines, eligibility, judging criteria.

Awards and Award Ceremony

Award winners will be invited to attend the Award Ceremony and Dinner hosted at the King’s College, University of Cambridge. The Dinner is free of charge for select award recipients.

Registration and Submission

Register a participant account today and submit your essay before the deadline.

Advisory Committee and Judging Panel

The Cambridge Re:think Essay Competition is guided by an esteemed Advisory Committee comprising distinguished academics and experts from elite universities worldwide. These committee members, drawn from prestigious institutions, such as Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford, and MIT, bring diverse expertise in various disciplines.

They play a pivotal role in shaping the competition, contributing their insights to curate the themes and framework. Their collective knowledge and scholarly guidance ensure the competition’s relevance, academic rigour, and intellectual depth, setting the stage for aspiring minds to engage with thought-provoking topics and ideas.

We are honoured to invite the following distinguished professors to contribute to this year’s competition.

The judging panel of the competition comprises leading researchers and professors from Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Cambridge, and Oxford, engaging in a strictly double blind review process.

Keynote Speeches by 8 Nobel Laureates

We are beyond excited to announce that multiple Nobel laureates have confirmed to attend and speak at this year’s ceremony on 30th July, 2024 .

They will each be delivering a keynote speech to the attendees. Some of them distinguished speakers will speak virtually, while others will attend and present in person and attend the Reception at Cambridge.

Why has religion remained a force in a secular world? 

Professor Commentary:

Arguably, the developed world has become more secular in the last century or so. The influence of Christianity, e.g. has diminished and people’s life worlds are less shaped by faith and allegiance to Churches. Conversely, arguments have persisted that hold that we live in a post-secular world. After all, religion – be it in terms of faith, transcendence, or meaning – may be seen as an alternative to a disenchanted world ruled by entirely profane criteria such as economic rationality, progressivism, or science. Is the revival of religion a pale reminder of a by-gone past or does it provide sources of hope for the future?

‘Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Jürgen Habermas (European Journal of Philosophy, 2006)

In this paper, philosopher Jürgen Habermas discusses the limits of church-state separation, emphasizing the significant contribution of religion to public discourse when translated into publicly accessible reasons.

‘Public Religions in the Modern World’ by José Casanova (University Of Chicago Press, 1994)

Sociologist José Casanova explores the global emergence of public religion, analyzing case studies from Catholicism and Protestantism in Spain, Poland, Brazil, and the USA, challenging traditional theories of secularization.

‘The Power of Religion in the Public Sphere’ by Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, and Cornel West (Edited by Eduardo Mendieta and Jonathan VanAntwerpen, Columbia University Press, 2011)

This collection features dialogues by prominent intellectuals on the role of religion in the public sphere, examining various approaches and their impacts on cultural, social, and political debates.

‘Rethinking Secularism’ by Craig Calhoun, Mark Juergensmeyer, and Jonathan VanAntwerpen (Oxford University Press, 2011)

An interdisciplinary examination of secularism, this book challenges traditional views, highlighting the complex relationship between religion and secularism in contemporary global politics.

‘God is Back: How the Global Rise of Faith is Changing the World’ by John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge (Penguin, 2010)

Micklethwait and Wooldridge argue for the coexistence of religion and modernity, suggesting that religious beliefs can contribute to a more open, tolerant, and peaceful modern world.

‘Multiculturalism’ by Tariq Modood (Polity Press, 2013)

Sociologist Tariq Modood emphasizes the importance of multiculturalism in integrating diverse identities, particularly in post-immigration contexts, and its role in shaping democratic citizenship.

‘God’s Agents: Biblical Publicity in Contemporary England’ by Matthew Engelke (University of California Press, 2013)

In this ethnographic study, Matthew Engelke explores how a group in England seeks to expand the role of religion in the public sphere, challenging perceptions of religion in post-secular England.

Gene therapy is a medical approach that treats or prevents disease by correcting the underlying genetic problem. Is gene therapy better than traditional medicines? What are the pros and cons of using gene therapy as a medicine? Is gene therapy justifiable?

Especially after Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, gene therapy is getting more and more interesting approach to cure. That’s why that could be interesting to think about. I believe that students will enjoy and learn a lot while they are investigating this topic.

The Hall at King’s College, Cambridge

The Hall was designed by William Wilkins in the 1820s and is considered one of the most magnificent halls of its era. The first High Table dinner in the Hall was held in February 1828, and ever since then, the splendid Hall has been where members of the college eat and where formal dinners have been held for centuries.

The Award Ceremony and Dinner will be held in the Hall in the evening of  30th July, 2024.

Stretching out down to the River Cam, the Back Lawn has one of the most iconic backdrop of King’s College Chapel. 

The early evening reception will be hosted on the Back Lawn with the iconic Chapel in the background (weather permitting). 

King’s College Chapel

With construction started in 1446 by Henry VI and took over a century to build, King’s College Chapel is one of the most iconic buildings in the world, and is a splendid example of late Gothic architecture. 

Attendees are also granted complimentary access to the King’s College Chapel before and during the event. 

Confirmed Nobel Laureates

Dr Thomas R. Cech

The nobel prize in chemistry 1989 , for the discovery of catalytic properties of rna.

Thomas Robert Cech is an American chemist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Sidney Altman, for their discovery of the catalytic properties of RNA. Cech discovered that RNA could itself cut strands of RNA, suggesting that life might have started as RNA. He found that RNA can not only transmit instructions, but also that it can speed up the necessary reactions.

He also studied telomeres, and his lab discovered an enzyme, TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase), which is part of the process of restoring telomeres after they are shortened during cell division.

As president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he promoted science education, and he teaches an undergraduate chemistry course at the University of Colorado

Sir Richard J. Roberts

The nobel prize in medicine 1993 .

F or the discovery of split genes

During 1969–1972, Sir Richard J. Roberts did postdoctoral research at Harvard University before moving to Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, where he was hired by James Dewey Watson, a co-discoverer of the structure of DNA and a fellow Nobel laureate. In this period he also visited the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology for the first time, working alongside Fred Sanger. In 1977, he published his discovery of RNA splicing. In 1992, he moved to New England Biolabs. The following year, he shared a Nobel Prize with his former colleague at Cold Spring Harbor Phillip Allen Sharp.

His discovery of the alternative splicing of genes, in particular, has had a profound impact on the study and applications of molecular biology. The realisation that individual genes could exist as separate, disconnected segments within longer strands of DNA first arose in his 1977 study of adenovirus, one of the viruses responsible for causing the common cold. Robert’s research in this field resulted in a fundamental shift in our understanding of genetics, and has led to the discovery of split genes in higher organisms, including human beings.

Dr Aaron Ciechanover

The nobel prize in chemistry 2004 .

F or the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

Aaron Ciechanover is one of Israel’s first Nobel Laureates in science, earning his Nobel Prize in 2004 for his work in ubiquitination. He is honored for playing a central role in the history of Israel and in the history of the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology.

Dr Ciechanover is currently a Technion Distinguished Research Professor in the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and Research Institute at the Technion. He is a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the Russian Academy of Sciences and is a foreign associate of the United States National Academy of Sciences. In 2008, he was a visiting Distinguished Chair Professor at NCKU, Taiwan. As part of Shenzhen’s 13th Five-Year Plan funding research in emerging technologies and opening “Nobel laureate research labs”, in 2018 he opened the Ciechanover Institute of Precision and Regenerative Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen campus.

Dr Robert Lefkowitz

The nobel prize in chemistry 2012 .

F or the discovery of G protein-coupled receptors

Robert Joseph Lefkowitz is an American physician (internist and cardiologist) and biochemist. He is best known for his discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family G protein-coupled receptors, for which he was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Brian Kobilka. He is currently an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute as well as a James B. Duke Professor of Medicine and Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry at Duke University.

Dr Lefkowitz made a remarkable contribution in the mid-1980s when he and his colleagues cloned the gene first for the β-adrenergic receptor, and then rapidly thereafter, for a total of 8 adrenergic receptors (receptors for adrenaline and noradrenaline). This led to the seminal discovery that all GPCRs (which include the β-adrenergic receptor) have a very similar molecular structure. The structure is defined by an amino acid sequence which weaves its way back and forth across the plasma membrane seven times. Today we know that about 1,000 receptors in the human body belong to this same family. The importance of this is that all of these receptors use the same basic mechanisms so that pharmaceutical researchers now understand how to effectively target the largest receptor family in the human body. Today, as many as 30 to 50 percent of all prescription drugs are designed to “fit” like keys into the similarly structured locks of Dr Lefkowitz’ receptors—everything from anti-histamines to ulcer drugs to beta blockers that help relieve hypertension, angina and coronary disease.

Dr Lefkowitz is among the most highly cited researchers in the fields of biology, biochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical medicine according to Thomson-ISI.

Dr Joachim Frank

The nobel prize in chemistry 2017 .

F or developing cryo-electron microscopy

Joachim Frank is a German-American biophysicist at Columbia University and a Nobel laureate. He is regarded as the founder of single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2017 with Jacques Dubochet and Richard Henderson. He also made significant contributions to structure and function of the ribosome from bacteria and eukaryotes.

In 1975, Dr Frank was offered a position of senior research scientist in the Division of Laboratories and Research (now Wadsworth Center), New York State Department of Health,where he started working on single-particle approaches in electron microscopy. In 1985 he was appointed associate and then (1986) full professor at the newly formed Department of Biomedical Sciences of the University at Albany, State University of New York. In 1987 and 1994, he went on sabbaticals in Europe, one to work with Richard Henderson, Laboratory of Molecular Biology Medical Research Council in Cambridge and the other as a Humboldt Research Award winner with Kenneth C. Holmes, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. In 1998, Dr Frank was appointed investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Since 2003 he was also lecturer at Columbia University, and he joined Columbia University in 2008 as professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics and of biological sciences.

Dr Barry C. Barish

The nobel prize in physics 2017 .

For the decisive contributions to the detection of gravitational waves

Dr Barry Clark Barish is an American experimental physicist and Nobel Laureate. He is a Linde Professor of Physics, emeritus at California Institute of Technology and a leading expert on gravitational waves.

In 2017, Barish was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics along with Rainer Weiss and Kip Thorne “for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves”. He said, “I didn’t know if I would succeed. I was afraid I would fail, but because I tried, I had a breakthrough.”

In 2018, he joined the faculty at University of California, Riverside, becoming the university’s second Nobel Prize winner on the faculty.

In the fall of 2023, he joined Stony Brook University as the inaugural President’s Distinguished Endowed Chair in Physics.

In 2023, Dr Barish was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Biden in a White House ceremony.

Dr Harvey J. Alter

The nobel prize in medicine 2020 .

For the discovery of Hepatitis C virus

Dr Harvey J. Alter is an American medical researcher, virologist, physician and Nobel Prize laureate, who is best known for his work that led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Alter is the former chief of the infectious disease section and the associate director for research of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. In the mid-1970s, Alter and his research team demonstrated that most post-transfusion hepatitis cases were not due to hepatitis A or hepatitis B viruses. Working independently, Alter and Edward Tabor, a scientist at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, proved through transmission studies in chimpanzees that a new form of hepatitis, initially called “non-A, non-B hepatitis” caused the infections, and that the causative agent was probably a virus. This work eventually led to the discovery of the hepatitis C virus in 1988, for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2020 along with Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice.

Dr Alter has received recognition for the research leading to the discovery of the virus that causes hepatitis C. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award conferred to civilians in United States government public health service, and the 2000 Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.

Dr Ardem Patapoutian

The nobel prize in medicine 2021 .

For discovering how pressure is translated into nerve impulses

Dr Ardem Patapoutian is an Lebanese-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate of Armenian descent. He is known for his work in characterising the PIEZO1, PIEZO2, and TRPM8 receptors that detect pressure, menthol, and temperature. Dr Patapoutian is a neuroscience professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California. In 2021, he won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with David Julius.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I participate in the Re:think essay competition? 

The Re:think Essay competition is meant to serve as fertile ground for honing writing skills, fostering critical thinking, and refining communication abilities. Winning or participating in reputable contests can lead to recognition, awards, scholarships, or even publication opportunities, elevating your academic profile for college applications and future endeavours. Moreover, these competitions facilitate intellectual growth by encouraging exploration of diverse topics, while also providing networking opportunities and exposure to peers, educators, and professionals. Beyond accolades, they instil confidence, prepare for higher education demands, and often allow you to contribute meaningfully to societal conversations or causes, making an impact with your ideas.

Who is eligible to enter the Re:think essay competition?  

As long as you’re currently attending high school, regardless of your location or background, you’re eligible to participate. We welcome students from diverse educational settings worldwide to contribute their unique perspectives to the competition.

Is there any entry fee for the competition? 

There is no entry fee for the competition. Waiving the entry fee for our essay competition demonstrates CCIR’s dedication to equity. CCIR believes everyone should have an equal chance to participate and showcase their talents, regardless of financial circumstances. Removing this barrier ensures a diverse pool of participants and emphasises merit and creativity over economic capacity, fostering a fair and inclusive environment for all contributors.

Subscribe for Competition Updates

If you are interested to receive latest information and updates of this year’s competition, please sign up here.

The Bert & Phyllis Lamb Prize in Political Science

• Introduction to the Lamb Prize
• Prize Recipients
• Eligibility, Selection Criteria, & Application Guidance
• Selection Committee
• Advisory Consortium

How to Apply for the Lamb Prize

DEADLINE FOR RECEIVING APPLICATIONS IS

FEBRUARY 16, 2024

Steps in Preparing and Submitting an Application:

• Check out the selection criteria.
• Revise your paper with the help of your Advisor or Mentor .
• Download the Application Form .
• Prepare a cover letter and have your faculty sponsor or advisor sign the Application Form.
• Submit your Application no later than close of business on the third Friday in February.

Helpful Links:    

Innovation and Good Writing for the Lamb Prize     

More about Good Writing

More about Innovation

What is an “ Abstract? “ Guidance for writing a good descriptive abstract. How to write an abstract.

Examples of winning Papers:  

Example– Full Paper: A United States Sustainable Energy Transition Based Successful International Models

Example–Full Paper: Corporate Oregon: A Narrative Study of Measure 97

Example–Full Paper: “I Believe We are Lost:” The Worst Casualties of the Great War

Useful Video

Strategies for Lamb Prize Applications

DEPARTMENTS WITH LAMB PRIZE WINNERS

UNIVERSITY OF MAINE, ORONO: SAMUEL RANSLEY , 2023

The Department of Political Science at the University of Maine in Orono, Maine is a vibrant and intellectually stimulating hub for students and scholars alike. The University of Maine has been offering courses in government and politics for over a century. With its rich history and dedication to excellence, the department is committed to fostering critical thinking, research, and civic engagement.The department offers a wide array of courses covering the core aspects of political science, including political theory, comparative politics, international relations, law, and American politics.To complement the classroom experience, the department provides ample opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning and research. Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to participate in faculty-led research projects, internships, and study abroad programs. Scores of departmental alumni have pursued careers in the Maine state executive branch, in the Maine legislature, in Maine municipal governments, and in the federal government.

UNIVERSITY at ALBANY, SUNY: NADINE AL ANNABI, 2023

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY has consistently been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s premier schools of public affairs. The College offers undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level degree programs in public administration, public policy, international affairs, and political science. Talented students come to Rockefeller for the knowledge and tools to make a difference in the world. Rockefeller College prides itself on preparing dynamic leaders who will shape the public policies of the future. Students are able to benefit from academic and experiential learning opportunities in the New York Capital Region and beyond to develop a strong foundation for careers in the public, nonprofit and private sectors as well as careers in teaching and research. The University at Albany is the premier public research university in the Capital Region and offers more than 17,000 students the expansive opportunities of a large university in an environment designed to foster individual success.

BROWN UNIVERSITY: ANDREW STEINBERG, 2021

The 2021 recipient, Andrew Steinberg, is a Junior in the  International and Public Affairs (IAPA) program at Brown University.

The International and Public Affairs  program at Brown University is the Watson Institute’s multidisciplinary and globally-comparative undergraduate concentration. The concentration equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary for engaged global citizenship at a time of rapid transformation and mounting societal challenges. The IAPA offers three tracks: Development, Policy & Governance, and Security.  Across all three tracks, it is committed to engaging students in the classroom, enabling research opportunities with faculty and in the field, and supporting experiential work opportunities.

IDAHO STATE UNIVERSITY: SANDRA CARRILLO RODRIGUEZ, 2020

Idaho State University is a public research university that offers more than 280 programs. Offering Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in Political Science, along with a Master’s of Public Administration degree, ISU’s Political Science department provides coursework in the fields of U.S. Politics, Comparative Politics and International Relations, Public Law, Public Administration and Political Theory. We prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to participate in civil society, address the future of our ever-changing political climate, and confront current issues such as human rights, climate change and socio-political and economic development. Students can access unique opportunities through internships and research to experience how the theoretical world interacts with the reality.  The main campus is in Pocatello, Idaho with other campuses in Meridian, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls, Idaho.

SAINT VINCENT COLLEGE: PAUL F. WEISSER, 2019

The politics department at Saint Vincent College approaches the study of politics as both philosophical reflection and analytical art. From the study of ancient, modern and contemporary sources, students are led to examine critically the ideas and events that have influenced the formation of political principles, government organization, characteristics of citizenship and social policy. Along with philosophical grounding, the program seeks to provide the analytical competence to understand the contemporary political environment, to address effectively public policy issues, and to contribute intellectually and practically to the sociopolitical challenges of our times.  In this way, the department contributes to Saint Vincent College’s mission as a Catholic, Benedictine, liberal arts institution of higher learning.

UNIVERSITY at ALBANY, SUNY: ZACHARIAH A. LEVITAN, 2018

Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy at the University at Albany, SUNY has consistently been recognized by  U.S. News & World Report  as one of the nation’s premier schools of public affairs. The College offers undergraduate, masters, and doctoral level degree programs in public administration, public policy, international affairs, and political science. Talented students come to Rockefeller for the knowledge and tools to make a difference in the world. Rockefeller College prides itself on preparing dynamic leaders who will shape the public policies of the future. Students are able to benefit from academic and experiential learning opportunities in the New York Capital Region and beyond to develop a strong foundation for careers in the public, nonprofit and private sectors as well as careers in teaching and research. The University at Albany is the premier public research university in the Capital Region and offers more than 17,000 students the expansive opportunities of a large university in an environment designed to foster individual success.

OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY: CLAIRE McMORRIS, 2017

Oregon State University is a public research university and the largest university in the state of Oregon. The main campus for OSU is in Corvallis, with other campuses in Bend, Newport, Portland, and online.  The Political Science department at OSU offers coursework in four sub-fields:  American Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Political Theory.  As a Land Grant University, OSU offers students unique opportunities through internships, practical real-world work experience, and research with extension offices throughout the state.  OSU is one of only two universities in the United States to have Sea, Space, and Sun Grant designations. The political science program at Oregon State is housed in the School of Public Policy. In addition to its undergraduate programs in economics, sociology, and political science, the School offers Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Public Policy.

BRYANT UNIVERSITY: QUINN MASSARONI, 2016

The Politics and Law program at Bryant University is an interdisciplinary program that brings together Political Science and Legal Studies in order to prepare students with the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the terrain of a world shaped by persistant change, shifting power and debates about critical questions regarding the role of government, the importance of human rights and peacekeeping as well as current issues such as climate change. Students in this major also will develop and master a set of critical skills. These include the ability to: (1) define or describe key concepts, specific facts, and critical issues of U.S. and global politics and law, and correctly apply this information to particular examples; (2) use conceptual models and theories to analyze political and legal events and decisions; (3) identify and discuss the methods used in political science and legal studies research; and (4) apply political and legal science methods in making convincing arguments supported by evidence and reasoning.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA –DAVIS: DAVID BE LCHER, 2015

The University of California, Davis is a public research university and part of the University of California system.  The university has over 36,000 total students and has numerous internationally recognized program across the university.  The Department of Political Science offers a cutting-edge education on the undergraduate and graduate levels.  At the undergraduate level, our department houses three majors: International Relations, Political Science, and Public Service, with a total of nearly 1500 majors.  In addition to a solid liberal arts education, we offer opportunities for undergraduates to do internships in Sacramento and Washington, DC, and to do research in political science, whether independently through our senior honors thesis program or through working with professors.  Our graduate program is highly ranked and respected, having been ranked 16th in the nation by the National Research Council and 17th by the most recent US News rankings of political science graduate programs.

Recipient of the Lamb Prize for 2024

Logan Torres of Brown University won the 2024 Lamb Prize for his paper entitled: “Solar Development in Municipalities: Impacts of Transparency on Implementation .”

Publication forthcoming June, 2024.

Logan Torres, Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

Honorable Mention for 2024

We are proud to present two Honorable Mention awards in 2024. The awards go to Depakshi Sarma of Macalester College and Shayla Trowbridge of Colorado Mesa University.

Depakshi Sarma won for her paper entitled  “Problems of Ineffective De-radicalization: Innovating Southeast Asian Counterterrorism Mechanisms.”

Macalester College, Political Science Department

Shayla Trowbridge won for her paper entitled ” “Genius Playboy Billionaire Philanthropists: How Human Security Became a Tool for American Hegemony.” 

Colorado Mesa University, Social and Behavioral Sciences Department

Knowledge with a Purpose

‘Have you been thinking that you might want to apply for the Lamb Prize? If so, there is good advice from past winners in a series of short videos. You can access the videos from the Past Recipients Page .

There is new advice and a unique perspective in the new video by the 2021 winner, Andrew Steinberg. He discusses his experience preparing his application for the Prize. Andrew also talks about how the Prize is a practical step in pursuing his deep interest in the deported veterans of the U.S. military.

There is more information about making application. You can find that information at:

Innovation and Good Writing for the Lamb Prize

“No Home for the Brave” — 2021 Winning Paper is Published

“No Home for the Brave: Understanding America’s Veteran Deportation System”

by Andrew Steinberg

Brown University

Published by Negotiation Guidance Associates .

The paper is available using this link.

The 2021 Winner is Andrew Steinberg of Brown University

Andrew Steinberg of Brown University is the winner of the 2021 Bert & Phyllis Lamb Prize in Political Science. His winning paper, entitled “No Home for the Brave: Understanding America’s Veteran Deportation System,” discusses the complex legal system affecting the status of immigrant members and veterans of the U.S. military. The system, which has developed over several decades, prevents them from achieving citizenship, avoiding deportation, and accessing proper healthcare.

Honorable Mention Announced for the 2021 Lamb Prize

The 2021 Honorable Mention Award for the Lamb Prize has been presented to Andrew Hinckley of Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island.  Mr. Hinckley’s award-winning paper is entitled “Ending Partisan Gerrymandering.” His application was sponsored by Professor Richard Holtzman, who wrote, “Andrew is an excellent writer and critical, analytical thinker.” 

The Winner of the 2020 Lamb Prize is Sandra Carrillo Rodriguez

Sandra Carrillo Rodriguez of Idaho State University has won the 2020 Bert & Phyllis Lamb Prize in Political Science. She becomes the sixth recipient of the Prize. Her winning paper seeks to understand how perceived discrimination and partisanship influences Latina/o/x linked fate. “Linked fate” refers to the belief that individual fates are connected to those of someone’s racial or ethnic group. Continue reading →

And the 2019 Winner Is: Paul F. Weisser of Saint Vincent College

Paul F. Weisser of St. Vincent College Has Been Selected for the 2019 Prize

The Lamb Prize is pleased to announce Paul F. Weisser as its winner for 2019. Mr. Weisser, a junior majoring in Politics at Saint Vincent College , is the fifth   undergraduate to win the Bert & Phyllis Lamb Prize in Political Science. Continue reading →

Zachariah Levitan wins the 2018 Bert & Phyllis Lamb Prize in Political Science

Zachariah A. Levitan of Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, SUNY has been awarded the 2018 Lamb Prize, becoming the fourth undergraduate to win this coveted award.   The prize, worth $1,000, plus travel expenses and a one-year membership in the Western Social Science Association (WSSA) marks a career milestone for Mr. Levitan. The paper has been published by Negotiation Guidance Associates and may be found at “ Levitan Paper. “

Continue reading →

• Search for:
• Application Form
• Citing the winning papers
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Good Writing
• History of the Prize
• Honorable Mention
• Purpose of the Prize
• Selection Criteria
• Winning Submissions

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Email Address:

• Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
• Subscribe Subscribed
• Report this content
• View site in Reader
• Manage subscriptions
• Collapse this bar

• Prizes and Medals

Brian Barry Prize in Political Science

The Brian Barry Prize, worth £1,500, is awarded annually for excellence in political science, with the winning essay published in the British Journal of Political Science.

History of the prize

The Brian Barry Prize, worth £1,500, is awarded annually for excellence in political science, with the winning essay published in the British Journal of Political Science .

The prize is made in partnership with Cambridge University Press and the British Journal of Political Science in honour of Brian Barry, a distinguished Fellow of the British Academy and founding editor of the Journal. The prize was first awarded in 2014.

Professor Brian Barry FBA (1936-2009) was a distinguished moral and political philosopher, widely credited with having fruitfully brought together analytic philosophy and political science, political theory and social choice theory. In 1988 he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy, to which he gave valuable service.

Eligibility

a) Eligible submissions must be an essay that has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere

b) The essay can address any topic in political science, as covered by the British Journal of Political Science , but essays in fields related to the work of Brian Barry will be especially welcome

c) Essays may be submitted by anyone in possession of a first degree

d) The prize is not open to current employees and Fellows of the British Academy, employees of Cambridge University Press, or the current Editors, Managing Editors or other administrative staff of the British Journal of Political Science

e) The Prize cannot be awarded to the same person more than once

f) Entries should be at least 8,000 and up to 10,000 words, including references, with an abstract of no more than 100 words

How to submit

Before submission please carefully read the Brian Barry Prize FAQs .

Submissions for the Brian Barry Prize are open and will be accepted from 1 December 2023 until 29 February 2024 (closing time of 17:00pm GMT). Submissions received after this date will not be considered.

Please submit your anonymised essay as a PDF via email to [email protected]

In the body of the email, clearly state:

• All author names
• Institution(s)
• Email addresses
• Highlight the corresponding author

Submissions must be in accordance with the Journal's style sheet. If any of the above information is missing, the submission will not be considered.

Entrants should be aware that submissions sent to [email protected] will be automatically forwarded to Anna Wylie (Senior Editorial Assistant, Cambridge University Press), who will reply via [email protected] . We suggest that you request a "read receipt" when you send your email to ensure that it has been delivered. You will receive an email from Anna confirming receipt of your submission.

The winning entry will be published in the British Journal of Political Science as the "British Academy Brian Barry Prize Essay" and the author or authors of the winning essay will receive £1,500 in total (i.e., if there are three authors then they will receive £500 each).

Submissions will be reviewed, and a winner proposed, by the Brian Barry Prize panel:

• Professor Paul Bou-Habib , Editor of British Journal of Political Science
• Professor David Owen FBA
• Professor Sue Mendus FBA
• Professor Susan James FBA
• Professor Stathis Kalyvas FBA

If you have any queries about submitting a nomination, please consult the Brian Barry Prize FAQs or email [email protected] .

2023 winner

Professor Göran Duus-Otterström , for his essay ' Emissions Sufficientarianism and Climate Justice '

Göran Duus-Otterström is professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg as well as a researcher in the Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm. He is a political theorist whose work mainly focuses on legal punishment and climate justice. He is currently co-principal investigator of the research programme “Climate Ethics and Future Generations” (Riksbankens Jubileumsfond, 2018-2013) and has published widely on the normative aspects of climate policy, especially burden sharing justice and the relevance of historical responsibility for current duties to respond to climate change. His work has appeared in journals such as British Journal of Political Science, Environmental Politics, Global Environmental Change, and Law & Philosophy . He has previously held visiting or permanent positions at the University of Warwick (2008-2009), the University of St Gallen (2013), and Aarhus University (2017-2021).

"I am obviously delighted to have been awarded the 2023 Brian Barry prize and wish to express my gratitude to the British Academy for recognizing my work. Brian Barry was a towering figure in analytical political philosophy whose work continues to shape several contemporary debates - not least the topic of intergenerational justice, which my essay addresses. Though professor Barry did write insightfully and passionately about environmental issues and our responsibility to unborn generations, to my knowledge, he never got around to writing specifically about climate change and climate justice. This is a shame as we would all undoubtedly have benefited from hearing what he had to say about it. On a personal note, I would also have loved to know whether he would accept the conclusions I advance in the essay. Professor Barry’s influence on contemporary climate ethics is nevertheless immense via his pioneering work on the vexing questions that emerge once justice is applied between generations as opposed to between contemporaries.”

– Professor Göran Duus-Otterström, August 2022

Previous winners

2022 Associate Professor Chiara Cordelli , for her essay ' Freeing People, Restricting Capital '

2021 not awarded

2020 Associate Professor Jonathan Havercroft , University of Southampton, for ' Why is there no just riot theory? '

2019 Dr Andre Santos Campos , Nova University of Lisbon, for " Representing the Future: The Interests of Future Persons in Representative Democracy "

2018 Dr Zeynep Pamuk,  St John's College, University of Oxford, for " Justifying Public Funding for Science "

2017   Dr Jonathan White , London School of Economics and Political Science, for " The Ethics of Political Alliance "

2016   Professor William Roberts Clark,  Texas A&M University, Professor Matt Golder,  Pennsylvania State University, and Professor Sona N. Golder,  Pennsylvania State University for " An Exit, Voice, and Loyalty Model of Politics "

2015   Dr Parashar Kulkarni , New York University, for " Are There Cultural Prerequisites to Effective Property Rights?: Evidence from Inheritance Rights of Widows in Colonial India "

2014   Dr Helder De Schutter , KU Leuven, and  Dr Lea Ypi , LSE, for " Mandatory Citizenship for Immigrants "

Sign up to our email newsletters

Preferences.

Yes, I wish to receive regular emails from the British Academy about the work of the organisation which may include news, reports, publications, research, affiliate organisations, engagement, projects, funding, fundraising and events.

• Undergraduate Essay Competition

The Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy is pleased to announce its seventh annual undergraduate essay competition.  Each year, students are invited to submit essays on a timely question related to foundational freedoms and responsibilities in liberal democracies.

For 2024, we invite responses to the question:

Should citizens be required to pass the US citizenship test before they can vote?

Representative government requires an informed and active citizenry to operate effectively. Recent polls show, however, that a significant number of Americans cannot even name all three branches of the federal government. This dearth of civics knowledge is troubling, to say the least. Policymakers currently are offering multiple ways to improve civics awareness. Some of those efforts target greater civic training in K12 schools; others target civics training in universities. As policymakers generate ways to expand people’s civic awareness, should they also require that voters pass the US Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization test before they vote? If so, why? How often must they pass the test? If not, why not?

All UW-Madison undergraduate students are eligible to participate.  Essays are approximately 1,000 words in length.  Scholarship recipients are invited to the Disinvited Dinner, hosted by the Center.

Deadline: April 7, 2024

Submit Essay Here

Previous Competitions

“Is it time to abolish lifetime tenure for US Supreme Court justices? If so, what should replace lifetime tenure? If not, why not?”

Winners: Bryce Mitchell , Matt Wadhwa , Kylie Ruprecht

“Should the federal government be allowed to mandate vaccines?”

Winners: Renxi Li , Aaron Dorf , Zachary Orlowsky , Taryn Hanson

“Should patriotism be taught at UW Madison?”

Winners: Jacob Bernstein , Nils Peterson , Lucas Olsen , Cleo Rank , Tony Mattioli

“Should the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution—which states that ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside’—be repealed or modified to restrict more precisely the definition of who may claim citizenship?”

Winners: Dana Coggio , Ben Johnson , August Schultz

“Are the goals of fostering freedom of speech on campus and of fostering a welcoming environment for all students incompatible?”

Winners:   Joshua Gutzmann ,  Rebekah Cullum ,  Zawadi Carroll

“Should the United States make military or national service compulsory?”

Winners: Maxwell Ruzika , Dana Craig , Jonah Edelman , Ellen Stojak , Nicholas Carl

“Should social media platforms be permitted to censor controversial speech?”

Winners: Anitha Quintin , Lucas Olsen , Matthew Kass

“Should the U.S. Electoral College be abolished, reformed, or left to the states to determine?”

Winners: Ean Quick , Garrett McLaughlin , Joshua Gutzmann

FOR UNDERGRADUATES

• Sifting & Winnowing: The Wisconsin Undergraduate Journal of Law, Political Science and Public Policy

FOR GRADUATES

• Postdoctoral Fellowship
• First Book Manuscript Workshop

FOR FACULTY

• Visiting Scholars
• Manuscript Workshop

• Get Involved
• Editorial Division
• Research Division
• Academic Division
• Marketing Division

Sarmed Hyder

August 14th, 2021, essay competition 2021.

10 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Our Annual Essay Competition has returned!

Essay Question 2021:

To what extent have emerging social movements caused politicians to respond with effective social change .

• £100 Amazon Voucher
• Certificate signed by Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Head of the LSE Department of Government
• Essay published in the LSEUPR blog
• The opportunity to attend and to present your essay at the LSEUPR Annual Conference
• £50 Amazon Voucher
• £25 Amazon Voucher
• Exploration:  this is a chance to engage with the topic and to explore your ideas and thoughts in a new way, outside the confines of academic stress from examinations and grades.
• Experience:  for those of you wishing to apply to university, this essay competition is a chance to produce an evidence-based, long form piece of writing. This is exactly the kind of work you will be regularly asked to produce at university, LSE or elsewhere!
• Prestige:  taking part in this competition is an achievement in itself and something that you can discuss in interviews, on your CV, and your personal statement for university.

Eligibility

• You must be yet to complete your A-Level studies, IB or equivalent, i.e. about to begin year 12 or 13 of secondary school or equivalent.
• Students from any country are allowed to enter, the competition is not limited to the UK, but is limited by level of study.

How to Enter:

Submission specifics:.

• Must be written in English.
• Please note: any in-text citations, footnotes and headings are included in the word count, but the title, bibliography and appendix, if applicable, are not included.
• Arial font, sized 12.
• Standard 1-inch margins.
• Submit essay as a PDF.
• It is extremely important to cite your sources. You are free to use any established referencing style (APA, Chicago, Harvard), as long as its use is consistent.
• Ensure that the PDF essay entry is completely anonymised, there should not be any personal details such as name or school attended included within the PDF.
• This is an independent piece of work. While you are free to discuss the topic with your peers/teacher, the final submission ultimately needs to be your own work. Plagiarism is a serious case of academic misconduct and will be met with disqualification.
• Submissions that are explicitly biased, agenda-fuelled, or without strong supporting evidence, are discouraged – scholarly essays are not columnist opinion pieces.

Essay Writing: 

• General guidance on academic essay writing: https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/lse-life/resources/podcasts/academic-writing-basic-principles
• Developing your essay thesis: https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis

Structuring your essay:

• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/essay-structure
• https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/lse-life/resources/podcasts/essay-writing-planning-and-structure

Writing a clear introduction:

• https://info.lse.ac.uk/current-students/lse-life/resources/podcasts/essay-writing-the-introduction

Ensuring your essay is clear and easy to follow:

• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/topic-sentences-and-signposting
• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/transitioning-beware-velcro

Writing an impactful conclusion:

• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/ending-essay-conclusions

Editing your essay:

• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/editing-essay-part-one
• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/editing-essay-part-tw
• https://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/developing-thesis

Referencing your Essay

General overview:   https://student.unsw.edu.au/referencing

• Chicago: Chicago Manual of Style (17 th Edition): https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/chicago_manual_17th_edition/cmos_formatting_and_style_guide/chicago_manual_of_style_17th_edition.html
• https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_a
• https://student.unsw.edu.au/apa
• Harvard : Harvard style https://student.unsw.edu.au/harvard-referencing
• Footnotes & bibliographies: https://student.unsw.edu.au/footnote-bibliography-or-oxford-referencing-system

Topic Specific Resources:

The study of social movements is vast and it can be difficult to know where to start. If you are unsure of where to begin, here are some resources that can kick off your research:

LSE Research on Social movements 

• https://www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-centre/research/smpm/papers ]
• http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/88297/1/Ishkanian_Social%20Movements_Accepted.pdf
• http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/29695/1/__Libfile_repository_Content_Campbell,%20C_Heeding%20the%20push_Heeding%20the%20push%20(lsero).pdf

Background on social movements and effective change: 

• https://hbr.org/2017/01/how-protests-become-successful-social-movements
• https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-lsquo-good-rsquo-social-movements-can-triumph-over-lsquo-bad-rsquo-ones/

Background on specific examples of critical social movements: 

• https://harvardpolitics.com/rhodes-must-fall/
• https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/rhodes-must-fall-founder-racist-statues/
• https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/BLM
• https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/08/15/the-hashtag-blacklivesmatter-emerges-social-activism-on-twitter/
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-51004204
• https://thewire.in/law/jnu-sedition-case-umar-khalid-kanhaiya-kumar-delhi-court
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-51005444
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-47952787
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34592527
• https://globalclimatestrike.net/

Examples of responses to protests: 

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-57189928
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-57175057
• https://myscp.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jcpy.1201

Share this:

• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

About the author

10 Comments

Hi, when will results be announced? Before Oct. 15th which is oxbridge application deadline?

Hi there! Thank you so much for your interest in the essay competition. We are aiming to complete the review process before the 15th October deadline for the benefit of Year 13 students but we cannot guarantee that this will happen. However, we would still strongly recommend that you submit a piece as partaking in prestigious essay competitions (such as this!) can add a lot to your personal statement.

I hope this helps!

Hi, there! May I ask whether I have to focus on BLM movement as stated below the question, or can come up with totally new social movements that I want to deal with? Thank you:)

Thank you for your question! You absolutely do not have to focus on the BLM movement. You can choose to talk about any social movement you like: such as the Climate Strikes or the student-led gun control movement in the USA (March for Our Lives). You may even want to talk about a few! Do look at our ‘Topic Specific Resources’ section for more pointers on different types of social movements you could discuss. However, do remember to choose the social movements carefully and ensure they are relevant to the question and give you enough material to talk about.

Can the word count go a little over 1000 words?

Hi there! You should ensure that is it under 1000 words. Cutting down your essay is a very important skill and something you will have to do many times if you decide to go to university! Look for unnecessary words and sentences which are too long.

I have completed my essay on the Nirbhaya movement which occurred in 2012-2013. I couldn’t find any specific date details other that it needing to be recent . Is this okay? Thank you !

Hi there! That’s absolutely fine, we’re looking forward to reading your work soon!

Is a bibliography required?

Yes, when you cite a source in-text you must include it in a bibliography. Please look over the referencing resources above for more guidance on how to do citations and how to keep a bibliography properly.

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Related Posts

LSEUPR Annual Essay Competition 2023: First Place Essay

January 25th, 2024.

LSEUPR Annual Essay Competition Second Place Essay

November 6th, 2021, lseupr annual essay competition third place essay.

2021 LSEUPR Essay Competition – Winners

November 1st, 2021, top posts & pages.

• Globalisation and State Sovereignty: A Mixed Bag
• Orientalism: in review
• A Guide to Understanding Parasite & Politics: Motifs in The Desire for Social Mobility
• Is Mill’s principle of Liberty compatible with his Utilitarianism? 

Essay  COMPETITION

2024 global essay prize.

The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good students into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. Our Essay Competition invites students to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum.

Entering an essay in our competition can build knowledge, and refine skills of argumentation. It also gives students the chance to have their work assessed by experts. All of our essay prizes are judged by a panel of senior academics drawn from leading universities including Oxford and Princeton, under the leadership of the Chairman of Examiners, former Cambridge philosopher, Dr Jamie Whyte.

The judges will choose their favourite essay from each of seven subject categories - Philosophy, Politics, Economics, History, Psychology, Theology and Law - and then select the winner of the Grand Prize for the best entry in any subject. There is also a separate prize awarded for the best essay in the junior category, for under 15s.

Q1. Do we have any good reasons to trust our moral intuition?

Q2. Do girls have a (moral) right to compete in sporting contests that exclude boys?

Q3. Should I be held responsible for what I believe?

Q1. Is there such a thing as too much democracy?

Q2. Is peace in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip possible?

Q3. When is compliance complicity?

Q1. What is the optimal global population?  

Q2. Accurate news reporting is a public good. Does it follow that news agencies should be funded from taxation?

Q3. Do successful business people benefit others when making their money, when spending it, both, or neither?

Q1. Why was sustained economic growth so rare before the later 18th century and why did this change?

Q2. Has music ever significantly changed the course of history?

Q3. Why do civilisations collapse? Is our civilisation in danger?

Q1. When, if ever, should a company be permitted to refuse to do business with a person because of that person’s public statements?

Q2. In the last five years British police have arrested several thousand people for things they posted on social media. Is the UK becoming a police state?

Q3. Your parents say that 11pm is your bedtime. But they don’t punish you if you don’t go to bed by 11pm. Is 11pm really your bedtime?

Q1. According to a study by four British universities, for each 16-point increase in IQ, the likelihood of getting married increases by 35% for a man but decreases by 40% for a woman. Why? 

Q2. There is an unprecedented epidemic of depression and anxiety among young people. Can we fix this? How?

Q3. What is the difference between a psychiatric illness and a character flaw?

Q1. “I am not religious, but I am spiritual.” What could the speaker mean by “spiritual”?

Q2. Is it reasonable to thank God for protection from some natural harm if He is responsible for causing the harm?

Q3. Does God reward those who believe in him? If so, why?

JUNIOR prize

Q1. Does winning a free and fair election automatically confer a mandate for governing?

Q2. Has the anti-racism movement reduced racism?

Q3. Is there life after death?

Q4. How did it happen that governments came to own and run most high schools, while leaving food production to private enterprise? 

Q5. When will advancing technology make most of us unemployable? What should we do about this?

Q6. Should we trust fourteen-year-olds to make decisions about their own bodies? 

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER DETAILS

Please read the following carefully.

Entry to the John Locke Institute Essay Competition 2024 is open to students from any country.

Registration  

Only candidates who registered before the registration deadline of Friday, 31 May 2024 may enter this year's competition.

All entries must be submitted by 11.59 pm BST on  the submission deadline: Sunday, 30 June 2024 .  Candidates must be eighteen years old, or younger, on that date. (Candidates for the Junior Prize must be fourteen years old, or younger, on that date.)

Entry is free.

Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration). 

The filename of your pdf must be in this format: FirstName-LastName-Category-QuestionNumber.pdf; so, for instance, Alexander Popham would submit his answer to question 2 in the Psychology category with the following file name:

Alexander-Popham-Psychology-2.pdf

Essays with filenames which are not in this format will be rejected.

The candidate's name should NOT appear within the document itself. 

Candidates should NOT add footnotes. They may, however, add endnotes and/or a Bibliography that is clearly titled as such.

Each candidate will be required to provide the email address of an academic referee who is familiar with the candidate's written academic work. This should be a school teacher, if possible, or another responsible adult who is not a relation of the candidate. The John Locke Institute will email referees to verify that the essays submitted are indeed the original work of the candidates.

Submissions may be made as soon as registration opens in April. We recommend that you submit your essay well in advance of th e deadline to avoid any last-minute complications.

Acceptance of your essay depends on your granting us permission to use your data for the purposes of receiving and processing your entry as well as communicating with you about the Awards Ceremony Dinner, the academic conference for essay competition finalists, and other events and programmes of the John Locke Institute and its associated entities.  

Late entries

If for any reason you miss the 30 June deadline you will have an opportunity to make a late entry, under two conditions:

a) A late entry fee of 20.00 USD must be paid by credit card within twenty-four hours of the original deadline; and

b) Your essay must be submitted  before 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 10 July 2024.

To pay for late entry, a registrant need only log into his or her account, select the relevant option and provide the requested payment information.

Our grading system is proprietary. Essayists may be asked to discuss their entry with a member of the John Locke Institute’s faculty. We use various means to identify plagiarism, contract cheating, the use of AI and other forms of fraud . Our determinations in all such matters are final.

Essays will be judged on knowledge and understanding of the relevant material, the competent use of evidence, quality of argumentation, originality, structure, writing style and persuasive force. The very best essays are likely to be those which would be capable of changing somebody's mind. Essays which ignore or fail to address the strongest objections and counter-arguments are unlikely to be successful .

Candidates are advised to answer the question as precisely and directly as possible.

The writers of the best essays will receive a commendation and be shortlisted for a prize. Writers of shortlisted essays will be notified by 11.59 pm BST on Wednesday, 31 July. They will also be invited to London for an invitation-only academic conference and awards dinner in September, where the prize-winners will be announced. Unlike the competition itself, the academic conference and awards dinner are not free. Please be aware that n obody is required to attend either the academic conference or the prize ceremony. You can win a prize without travelling to London.

All short-listed candidates, including prize-winners, will be able to download eCertificates that acknowledge their achievement. If you win First, Second or Third Prize, and you travel to London for the ceremony, you will receive a signed certificate. 

There is a prize for the best essay in each category. The prize for each winner of a subject category, and the winner of the Junior category, is a scholarship worth US$2000 towards the cost of attending any John Locke Institute programme, and the essays will be published on the Institute's website. Prize-giving ceremonies will take place in London, at which winners and runners-up will be able to meet some of the judges and other faculty members of the John Locke Institute. Family, friends, and teachers are also welcome.

The candidate who submits the best essay overall will be awarded an honorary John Locke Institute Junior Fellowship, which comes with a US$10,000 scholarship to attend one or more of our summer schools and/or visiting scholars programmes. 

The judges' decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

R egistration opens: 1 April, 2024.

Registration deadline: 31 May, 2024. (Registration is required by this date for subsequent submission.)

Submission deadline: 30 June, 2024.

Late entry deadline: 10 July, 2024. (Late entries are subject to a 20.00 USD charge, payable by 1 July.)

Notification of short-listed essayists: 31 July, 2024.

Academic conference: 20 - 22 September, 2024.

Awards dinner: 21 September, 2024.

Any queries regarding the essay competition should be sent to [email protected] . Please be aware that, due to the large volume of correspondence we receive, we cannot guarantee to answer every query. In particular, regrettably, we are unable to respond to questions whose answers can be found on our website.

If you would like to receive helpful tips  from our examiners about what makes for a winning essay or reminders of upcoming key dates for the 2024  essay competition, please provide your email here to be added to our contact list. .

Thanks for subscribing!

The John Locke Institute's Global Essay Prize is acknowledged as the world's most prestigious essay competition. 

We welcome tens of thousands of submissions from ambitious students in more than 150 countries, and our examiners - including distinguished philosophers, political scientists, economists, historians, psychologists, theologians, and legal scholars - read and carefully assess every entry. 

I encourage you to register for this competition, not only for the hope of winning a prize or commendation, and not only for the chance to join the very best contestants at our academic conference and gala ceremony in London, but equally for the opportunity to engage in the serious scholarly enterprise of researching, reflecting on, writing about, and editing an answer to one of the important and provocative questions in this year's Global Essay Prize. 

We believe that the skills you will acquire in the process will make you a better thinker and a more effective advocate for the ideas that matter most to you.

I hope to see you in September!

Best wishes,

Jamie Whyte, Ph.D. (C ANTAB ) 

Chairman of Examiners

Essay Competitions

With our essay competitions, we aim to encourage students, researchers, and young professionals to develop innovative policy solutions and contribute to public debate on important current issues.

All submissions are preselected by our editorial team and judged by an independent expert panel.

We work to bring young, fresh ideas to the attention of established organizations policymakers by publishing the work online and through  award ceremonies and discussion events, where we give competition winners, experts, and the public the opportunity to interact and discuss policy ideas face-to-face.

If you or your organization would like to work together with us to run an essay competition or encourage public debate in a certain policy area, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

Current Call for Papers

Regular submissions to all topic areas are open.

Past Competitions

News | 2024 Rex Nettleford Essay Prize opens for entries

2024 Rex Nettleford Essay Prize opens for entries

Essay competition.

The 2024 Rex Nettleford Essay Prize has opened for entries from Year 12 students.

Born in Falmouth, Jamaica, in 1933, Ralston “Rex” Nettleford was a scholar and a social critic as well as a choreographer and activist. In 1957 he studied for an MPhil in Political Science at Oriel College, Oxford, with a Rhodes Scholarship. Then after his studies he returned to Jamaica to take on a role at the University of the West Indies, where in due course he would be appointed Vice-Chancellor.

The essay prize aims to recognise Rex’s contributions to scholarship, education and culture while encouraging students to engage with the lasting influence of colonialism and uncomfortable questions posed by it.

Candidates are asked to submit an answer to one of four questions before Friday 15 March 2024. Prizes will be awarded at Oriel College on the occasion of the 2024 Rex Nettleford Lecture on Colonialism and its Legacies during Trinity term.

While British colonialism sets the specific context for the competition, candidates may address any geographical centre of colonialism in their essays.

At the 2023 Rex Nettleford Lecture Ekow Eshun, Chairman of the Fourth Plinth, talked about how recent works of visual art by the African diaspora are imagining new ways of being Black which are free from the restraints that the legacy of colonialism places on Black people.

The winners of the 2023 Rex Nettleford Essay Prize were Isaac Gavaghan and Rufus Shutter. Special commendations also went to Fatima Dambatta, Elicia Brance and Raian Gantra.

To find out more about the 2024 Rex Nettleford Essay Prize, including details on how to enter, click here .

Scholarship Spotlight: Patricia Mativo on Disability, Gender and Climate Change

Oriel college to support three more afox mastercard foundation scholars, eight oriel rowers selected for 2024 oxford and cambridge boat race.

Congressional Seminar Essay Contest for High School Students

In winning the writing competition, win a Scholarship for the Congressional Seminar in Washington, D.C. from June 24-28, 2024.

The Congressional Essay Contest (CEC) is run by NSCDA Corporate Societies and Town Committees across the United States. Freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year high school students submit essays that are then judged and awarded. Students must be 16 or older to participate in the Congressional Seminar.

The essay topic changes annually. For this year’s contest (2023-2024) the NSCDA asks students to answer the prompt:

“Why did the nation’s founders choose a government with separated powers rather than a parliamentary system?”

Winners receive full tuition and support for travel to our nation’s capital for the Workshops Foundation’s renown Congressional Seminar, a highly interactive, civic-focused workshop. The seminar includes a Mock Congress, enabling students to collaborate with peers from various backgrounds and different views to forge public policy on pressing national and international issues. The seminar provides university campus housing and meals; a per diem for meals purchased off-campus; and access to world class museums, government and congressional offices, and memorable tours. Are you curious about what to expect on this trip? Watch this 4:30 minute video . This is a sample itinerary of the trip.

Learn more about the Workshops Foundation .

2024 contest information

• 2024 application
• 2024 contest rules and information
• Write a compelling 750 word essay (judging criteria can be found on page 2)
• Applications are due December 1

Note: Children and grandchildren of an active member of The NSCDA may not receive a scholarship to the Congressional Seminar. They are still eligible to participate at their own expense. See below for further details and application or email Mary Bradshaw, NSCDA Congressional Essay Consultant, at  [email protected]  for more information.

• Legacy Scholar information
• 2024 Legacy Scholar application
• Legacy Scholar payment form

2024 Poster for your classrooms

We look forward to reading your class submissions!

In grateful appreciation to Linda R. Monk, J.D., Constitutional Scholar ( www.lindamonk.com ), for her contribution to the wording of the topic.

Encourage your students to complete and submit their application for 2024 .

Email Mary Bradshaw, NSCDA Congressional Essay Consultant, at [email protected] for more information or if you have any questions.

Donations to this Essay Contest are greatly appreciated.

Congressional Seminar Essay Contest Gallery

Department of Political Science

Distinction

Distinction is awarded to majors who have earned grades of A or A– in three–quarters of the credits in the major and a grade of A or A– on the senior essay. All courses that are counted for the major are included in the calculation for distinction. Courses taken on a Credit/D/Fail basis are included as non–A grades.

The Department awards the following prizes for senior essays:

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2022-23

• Tyler Jager, “ Can “Grassroots” Aid Organizations Reduce Anti-Refugee Hostility? Evidence from Fieldwork on the Northern Aegean Islands ” (advisor Elisabeth Wood): James Gordon Bennett Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on international relations.
• Jonathan Oates, “ Race in Democracy, On Tocqueville and the Social Death of Black America ” (advisor Giulia Oskian): Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on political philosophy or theory.
• Tyler Brown “Contact and Competition: How refugees and labor markets mediate far-right voting in Austria” (advisor Emily Erikson): Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on political philosophy or theory.
• Kevin Xiao, “Capture by Congress, Staffing as a Tool of Political Control at the Federal Election Commission” (advisor Christina Kinane): Frank M. Patterson Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on the American political system.

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2021-22

• Kieran Mitchell, “ Migration-Based Hybrid Warfare on Europe’s Externalized Borders: Case Studies on Morocco and Belarus in 2021 ” (advisor Tyler Pratt): James Gordon Bennett Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on international relations.
• Nick Jones, “ OEDIPUS POLITIKOS: Tyranny, Liberation, and the Limit of Politics in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex ” (advisor Daniel Schillinger) and Andrew Sorota, “Bad Ideology: Spinozist Affects and the Power of Inadequate Ideas” (advisors Michael Della Rocca and Samuel Moyn): Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on political philosophy or theory.
• Numi Katz,  “A New Model of Religion and We lfare State Preferences: Evidence from Israeli Health Reform” (advisor Isabela Mares): Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on political philosophy or theory.
• Montana Love (who’s essay also won the college-wide John Addison Porter Prize), “ Agreeing to Disagree: Examining the Role of Dissent in Talmudic and U.S. Constitutional Law ” (advisor Maria E. Doerfler): Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best thess in the support of the principles of the Constitution of the United States of America and the first ten amendments.
• Max Teirstein, “ How Corporate Dark Money Weakens Democracy and Shapes Climate Policy ” (advisor Jacob Hacker) and Shannon Sommers, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Precedent?” (advisor Kelly Rader): Frank M. Patterson Prize for the most outstanding senior essay on the American political system.

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2020-21

• Akhil Rajan, “ Beyond Left and Right: How Redistricting Changes the Shape of Our Democracy ” (advisor Josh Kalla):  Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American Political System                
• Nathalie Beauchamps, “ The Good Kind of Discrimination: How to Remedy Past Injustices Amidst Demands for a Colorblind Constitution ” (advisor Mordechai Levy-Eichel) and Alina Glaubitz, “ How should liability be attributed for harms caused by biases in Artificial Intelligence? ” (advisor Nathaniel Raymond):  Percival Wood Clement Prizes for the best senior essays on the U.S. Constitution and its First Ten Amendments    
• Collett Preston, “ Brexit and Betrayal Exploring the Continuity of Insecurities and Development of Identity within the Unionist Community of Northern Ireland ” (advisor Bonnie Weir) and Alena Rajwani, “ Motivating Subnational Research on Female Labor Force Participation Patterns: A Case Study of Malaysia ” (advisor Frances Rosenbluth):  Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essays in Comparative Politics
• Tanisha Gupta, “ Western Election monitoring: A Signaling Game between Pseudo-Democratic Host Countries and the Democratized West ” (advisor Ana De La O):  James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay in International Relations
• Ben Dormus, “ Hit the road, Jack: Dislodging John Locke from the Logic of Public Safety in the United States Toward Police Abolitionist Theory and Practice ” (advisor Gregory Collins): Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essays in Political Philosophy
• Honorable mention: Aakshi Agarwal, winner of this year’s Harvey M. Applebaum ‘59 Prize, for her essay “Regulatory Agency Capture:  How the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Approved the Mountain Valley Pipeline” (advisor Michael Fotos)

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2019-20

• Katharine Barr Berman, “ From the Balfour Declaration of 1917 to the Farhud of 1941: Treatment of Jews in Iraq and Patterns of Jewish Emigration ” (Advised by Jeffrey Macris):  2020 James Gordon Bennett Prize (International Relations) - Best paper based on work completed in the fall term and the first half of the spring term.
• Elias Mastakouris and Chaltu Musse:  2020 James Gordon Bennett Prize (International Relations) - Most outstanding scholarship in international relations throughout the course of the major.
• Chloe Prendergast for selections from her senior essay (which was titled “The Comic Effect: Humor and the Construction of National Identity in Northern Ireland”) including “Conceptual Foundations” and “Comedy and National Identity in Northern Ireland: Television.” (Advised by Bonnie Weir):  2020 Charles Washburn Clark Prize (Comparative Politics)
• Marwan Safar Jalani:  2020 Charles Washburn Clark Prize (Comparative Politics) - Most outstanding scholarship in comparative politics throughout the course of the major.
• Holly Jackson, “ Creedal Passion Politics? The End of Yale’s Calhoun College and the Start of a Green New Deal Revolution ” (Advised by John Dearborn):  2020 Percival Wood Clement Prize (US Constitution) - Best paper based on work completed in the fall term and the first half of the spring term.
• Steven Tian:  2020 Percival Wood Clement Prize (US Constitution) - Most outstanding scholarship on American Constitutional issues throughout the course of the major.
• Steven Rome, “ Fairness under Fire: Ricci v. DeStefano and the Racial Legitimacy Gap ” (Advised by John DeStefano):  2020 Frank M. Patterson Prize (American Politics) - Best paper based on work completed in the fall term and the first half of the spring term.
• Neil Goodman, Christina Pao, and Benjamin Waldman:  2020 Frank M. Patterson Prize (American Politics) - Most outstanding scholarship on American Politics throughout the course of the major.
• Isaiah Affron, for selections from his senior essay, “ ‘Alter or Abolish’: The American Right of Revolution ” including “Chapter One: The Duty to Resist from Calvin to Locke” (advised by Steven Smith):  2020 Philo Sherman Bennett Prize (Political Philosophy) - Best paper based on work completed in the fall term and the first half of the spring term.
• Keerthana Annamaneni and Justin Jin:  2020 Philo Sherman Bennett Prize (Political Philosophy) - Most outstanding scholarship on political philosophy throughout the course of the major.

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2018-19

• Alex Brod, “ The Role of Roll ” (advisor John Henderson):  Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American Political System
• Maxime Pradier, “ Why do Louisiana Prosecutors Seek the Death Penalty in Aggravated Murder Cases? ” (advisor Gregory Huber):  Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its First Ten Amendments        
• John Kauffman, “ Judges Picking Judges ” (advisor Steven Calabresi):  Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay in Comparative Politics 
• Clara Ma, “The United States and China in the Arctic” (advisor Daniel Mattingly):  James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay in International Relations
• Elliot Setzer, “Citizenship and Political Economy in Nineteenth Century French Liberal Thought” (advisor Giulia Oskian):  Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essays in Political Philosophy
• Daniel Wasserman, “ The Passion of Justice: Plato’s Education of Anger in the Republic ” (advisor Steven Smith):  Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essays in Political Philosophy

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2017-18

• Anna Lipin :  Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its First Ten Amendments
• Kyle Deakins :  Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American Political System
• Matthew Toland :  Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essays in Comparative Politics
• Hillary Lutkus :  James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay in International Relations
• Simiao Li :  Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essay in Political Philosophy

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2016-17

• Azeezat Adeleke : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments
• Abigail Bessler : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Simone Paci : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Joseph Tomchak : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics 
• Rachel Williams : James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Angelina Xing: Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on Political Philosophy

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2015-16

• Anna Baron : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Colleen Flynn : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Alina Sidorova : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Ameze Belo-Osagie : James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Deborah Won : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2014-15

• Eric Stern : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Danielle Ellison : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Charlotte Storch : James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Dana Schneider : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments
• Zachary Krislov : Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on Political Philosophy

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2013-14

• Joshua Kalla : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Christina Hull : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Drew Morrison : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Marissa Dearing : James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Patrick Toth : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments
• Gabriel Levine : Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on Political Philosophy

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2012-13

• Stacey Chen : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Anna Moore : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Baobao Zhang : James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Emily Gray : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2011-12

• Joshua Rosmarin : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Carmen Lu : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• Devin Smith : James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Tony Cheng : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments

Prize Winning Senior Essays 2010-11

• David Broockman : Frank Miner Patterson Prize for the best senior essay on the American political system
• Garentina Kraja : Charles Washburn Clark Prize for the best senior essay on Comparative Politics
• George Bogden: James Gordon Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on International Relations
• Daniel Beniak : Percival Wood Clement Prize for the best senior essay on the U.S. Constitution and its first ten amendments
• Samuel Jackson : Philo Sherman Bennett Prize for the best senior essay on Political Philosophy

• CEU PU - Deutsch
• Közép-európai Egyetem

Arete: Undergraduate Essay Competition Winners

The Department of Political Science is pleased to announce the winners of the Undergraduate Essay Competition. Participation was open to all BA graduates and BA students in the last year of their studies worldwide. Students could choose one of the three topics:

1. Authoritarian and populist challenges to democracy.

2. Overcoming war in Europe – a new era of democratic support?

3. Saving democracy – passive citizens, fake news, and mediatization.

Essays were reviewed and scored by the departmental committee and the following students were awarded:

1. First place prize:  Lucia Cagalová (Comenius University Bratislava)   It’s The Other Way Around:  autocracy is challenged by democracy.

2. Second place prize :

• Maike Elsasser (Central European University)  On Emotionalism, Unity, and “Othering” : Acceptance of I l liberalism in Hungary.
• Chisato Maezawa  (Budapest Metropolitan University)  Authoritarian and Populist Challenges to Democracy.

Thanks to all participants and congratulations to the winners!

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

This Is the Best Way for Biden to Talk About the Economy

Mr. Wu is a law professor at Columbia, a contributing Opinion writer and the author of “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.” He served on the National Economic Council as a special assistant to the president for competition and tech policy from 2021 to 2023.

Since the early 2000s, most Americans have generally been dissatisfied with the economy, and many are insecure about their place in it. The dissatisfaction peaked during the Great Recession of 2007 to 2009 but persists, even as the economy is growing and unemployment and inflation combined are roughly where they were during the relatively upbeat days of the Kennedy administration. This is a stubborn, long-term disgruntlement.

Unlike short-term economic dissatisfaction, which lends itself to tinkering with interest rates and budgetary trade-offs, long-term dissatisfaction suggests a deeper, structural problem with the economy that requires more drastic measures. It is perhaps the signature achievement of the Biden administration that it has recognized this problem — specifically, the increasingly centralized, unbalanced nature of economic power in the United States over the past four decades — and is trying to address it.

But this policy wisdom also presents a political challenge. The administration’s strategy is unconventionally bold and far-reaching — an attempt to replace today’s toxic form of capitalism with an earlier, fairer model of free enterprise. Viewed through the narrow lens of conventional economic thinking, that strategy is easily misunderstood or overlooked, perhaps especially by its would-be allies in the political center and on the center-left. Today’s familiar left-right economic debates, for example, in which the left wins by taxing and spending and the right wins by cutting taxes, have precious little to do with the more ambitious vision of President Biden’s administration.

Americans are desperate for a fundamentally different, fairer kind of economy, and Mr. Biden is working to give them one. The urgent challenge, politically, is helping voters understand that.

To appreciate the novelty of the Biden administration’s approach to the economy, it is worth remembering that over the past 40 years the orthodoxy on the center-left has been a tax-and-transfer strategy. It has meant tolerating or even encouraging corporate consolidation and profit while maintaining the expectation that those profits would be redistributed in the service of the less powerful and less well-off. The popular metaphor of a national pie suggested focusing first on growing the pie and then on dividing it up equitably.

This logic has been a favorite of those arguing for deregulation and tax cuts since the 1980s. It was also used extensively to promote the World Trade Organization and free trade policies: The idea was that increased profits would be used to compensate displaced workers later on. Today, the same thinking would permit mergers between credit card companies like Discover and Capital One: Even if they charged higher rates and fees, we could always redistribute the profits later.

The problem is that “later” never seems to come. The pie metaphor has always been misleading: An actual pie must be divided before being eaten. But corporate profits aren’t like that. They go directly to the owners and managers and usually stay there. Redistributing profits requires prying money out of some very strong hands, hands that become stronger the wealthier they get. In a political system in which money talks, the pie will rarely get divided.

The Biden administration, in a break with center-left orthodoxy, seeks to address economic inequality not through taxation and transfers but through policies that allow more people and businesses to earn wealth in the first place. That is the meaning of the somewhat mysterious liberal catchphrase “growing from the middle out.” The goal is not the redistribution but the predistribution of wealth, to use a term popularized by the political scientist Jacob Hacker.

This approach calls for a different kind of capitalism — one that opposes the centralization of economic power and favors a market in which wealth can be earned by people and businesses in a broader set of regions, drawn from a wider array of social classes and involving a more diverse set of industries.

Over the past three years of the Biden administration, you can see this philosophy at work in what may seem like different areas. It is at the heart of the Justice Department’s continuing New Deal-style antimonopoly campaign, which has already prevented dozens of unwise mergers (like the recent proposed acquisition of Spirit Airlines by JetBlue Airways). It undergirds Mr. Biden’s renewed support for organized labor, as well as his worker-centered trade policy and the increasingly combative approach to the economic threat posed by China. It explains the reinvigoration of industrial policy on Capitol Hill, most notably through supporting regional manufacturing like the huge semiconductor factories being built in Arizona by the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. It also underlies the administration’s campaign against junk fees across the economy, including the creation of a rule limiting credit card late fees that will save Americans an estimated $10 billion a year.

These efforts are usually discussed and understood separately. But they share an underlying logic: All are aimed at leveling imbalances of economic power, and all assume that the economy works better for most Americans when it is more competitive and when earning power is more broadly distributed. (I worked on some of these issues on the National Economic Council, where I served as a special assistant to the president for competition and tech policy.)

There is arguably nothing more American than the balancing of power. The authors of the Constitution of the United States believed that unaccountable and centralized power was the chief evil facing any nation. Had the founders been familiar with the modern American corporation, surely they would have wanted to check its power.

Americans understand this instinctually. The National Football League, the nation’s most popular and successful sports league, doesn’t allow the richest organizations in places like New York or Los Angeles to build unbeatable teams. It has developed a structure of competition that rebalances power by way of a draft, salary cap and other techniques. No one thinks it unusual that a small city like Kansas City, Mo., can become a football powerhouse. In its own way, the N.F.L. — widely accepted as fair by Americans — provides a model for the U.S. economy.

When overly focused on metrics like growth and employment, economic analysis can fail to grasp how most Americans actually experience the economy. Most people understand all too well that those in the broad economic middle of the country are having a much harder time than their parents did — and that something went seriously astray starting in the early 2000s. They want a more fundamental kind of economic change.

To succeed in the 2024 election, Mr. Biden needs to convince voters that he has begun a long fight against today’s toxic form of capitalism. He needs them to understand that he is making the economy fairer and more productive. He needs to explain that Donald Trump’s invocations of economic grievance are real and justified but that unlike Mr. Trump — who used those grievances to fuel tribal politics while doling out corporate tax cuts and other giveaways to wealthy friends and donors — he is actually doing something about it.

Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia, is the author of “The Curse of Bigness: Antitrust in the New Gilded Age.” He served on the National Economic Council as a special assistant to the president for competition and tech policy from 2021 to 2023.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .