We invite submissions for our 2025–2026 Philosophical Essay Prize Competition which centers on the question: Is the Left-Right Distinction Still Useful for Political Orientation? Once central to debates from the French Revolution to the Cold War, this binary is now being challenged by shifting global, digital, and cultural dynamics. How have industrialization, neoliberalism, and digitalization reshaped its relevance? How do different frameworks, like authoritarian vs. libertarian or nationalist vs. cosmopolitan, impact our current political landscape?
Philosophical essays (approx. 20–30 pages) should be unpublished and thoroughly engage with our prize question via the lens of Werner Stegmaier’s What is Orientation? A Philosophical Investigation. Cross-disciplinary and critical perspectives are welcome.
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1st prize award: $10,000
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2nd prize award: $7,500
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3rd prize award: $5,000
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Student Award: $2,500 (if no student places in the top three)
The deadline to submit your essay is: January 31, 2026 (midnight US Central Time).
Read more about the competition here on our website.