Dear Students,

The Journal of International Affairs is seeking student submissions for its semiannual Cordier Essay Contest. The author of the winning article will receive $500 along with publication alongside noted scholars in the Journal’s forthcoming issue on Uprisings, Protests, and Revolutions. Published by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, the Journal of International Affairs is one of the oldest and most respected foreign affairs periodicals.

Submission Guidelines:

• Essays cannot have been previously published, but need not be written specifically for the contest. Papers submitted for academic credit are welcome, provided they are relevant to the upcoming issue’s theme.
• Papers should not exceed 4,000 words.
• Citations should be in the form of footnotes formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style 16^th ed
• The Andrew Wellington Cordier Essay Contest is open to all students currently enrolled at Columbia University and affiliated schools

·         Submission Deadline: 7 September 2014, 11:59 PM EDT. Interested authors can send submissions or questions to Michael Stecher (Cordier Editor) at mjs2310@columbia.edu.

Fall 2014: Uprisings, Protests, and Revolutions

The Fall 2014 issue will explore the recent international wave of uprisings from a variety of angles. Among the topics covered will be the role of social media and new technology in the organization and execution of contemporary protest movements, as well as the ways that regimes have manipulated these same resources to quell dissent. Beyond technology, we will also explore the role of violence and nonviolence as methods and how they have contributed to the success or failures of protestors’ and revolutionaries’ goals. Another section will look at the international response to uprisings. Why do some movements lead to intervention by powerful states and international organizations, while others are left to fend for themselves? Finally, as a complement to the above topics, we will feature case studies on movements that have been less widely covered.

Uprisings, Protests, and Revolutions is a topic that should allow authors to take a scholarly view of momentous social changes with extreme contemporary relevance and historical import. The Journal’s editorial board plans to approach the topic in a holistic manner that is more than news analysis and attempts to shape the way that these events will be considered a generation from now.

Fall 2014 Cordier Essay: Discuss a contemporary issue that is related to the causes, success, failure, or implications of a contemporary or ongoing uprising, protest, or revolutionary movement. The submission may consider any of the topics described above or address a separate question related to contemporary uprisings, protests, and revolutions (e.g. the economic causes of contemporary social unrest). A successful essay will explore a specific facet and apply lessons learned to the broader issue.