A refereed journal concerned with the spread of nuclear, chemical, biological, and conventional weapons. Featuring viewpoints, articles, and reports on programs, treaties and export controls, terrorism, and the economic and environmental effects of weapons proliferation.

Updated: Nov 14, 2012

Doreen & Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) at the Monterey Institute of International Studies strives to combat the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons to state and non-state actors by training the next generation of nonproliferation specialists and disseminating timely information based on cutting-edge research and analysis.

To spur new thinking and policy initiatives to address today's nuclear proliferation threats (such as those posed by Iran, North Korea, Syria, India, and Pakistan, as well as the continuing risks associated with the large stockpiles maintained by Russia and the United States), CNS and its journal, the Nonproliferation Review, sponsor an annual essay competition to identify and publish the most outstanding new analyses in the nonproliferation field. This year, we're interested in new insights, new perspectives, new approaches, and specific recommendations for resolving today's most urgent nuclear weapons challenges, including those involving state and non-state actors.

Eligibility

This competition is open to persons worldwide, except for past winners of the Doreen and Jim McElvany Nonproliferation Challenge, and anyone involved in reviewing or judging submissions.

How to Enter

On or before June 3, 2013, e-mail your entry to essaycontest@miis.edu. A valid entry consists of two parts:

1. a completed official cover sheet [Word DOC] indicating the name(s) of the author(s), address(es), telephone number(s), e-mail address(es), indication of status as a student at the time of entry (yes or no, undergraduate or graduate), date of birth, title of the submission, and a one paragraph biography of the author(s) (the cover sheet is the only place where this information should appear); and
2. the submitted essay.

If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within two days of submitting your essay, please contact sschwartz@miis.edu.

Submission Guidelines

Entries should be between 4,000-5,000 words (including endnotes), or approximately 10-14 double-spaced pages. All entries must be the original, unpublished work of the author(s) and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

All entries must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document and must conform to the Nonproliferation Review's style guidelines.

To preserve anonymity, self-referential endnotes and excessive citation of one's own work are discouraged.

Submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines will not be considered.

Submission Deadline

Judging

Upon receipt, all submissions will be logged, acknowledged via e-mail, and assigned a unique entry number that will replace the cover sheet for identification purposes. Anonymized submissions will then be forwarded to The Nonproliferation Review's editors for screening to ensure compliance with all competition rules. Submissions that do not comply with the rules will not be considered.

Once all submissions have been logged and screened, they will be forwarded to the judging panel, comprised of selected members of the CNS staff, the Review editorial board, and other experts in the field.

Judging will be based equally on the following criteria: writing quality, originality, creativity, and strength of recommendations.

Winner Notification

Winners will be notified by telephone, mail, and/or e-mail on or before July 19, 2013.

If a winner cannot be contacted within 14 days of the initial attempt, CNS reserves the right to disqualify the designated winner and award the prize to a runner-up selected by the judges. Information about the winning entries will be posted on the competition web site on or before July 19, 2013.

Only authors whose essays become finalists will be eligible to receive critical feedback about their entries.

Prizes

A $5,000 grand prize (the McElvany Prize) and up to two $2,500 runner-up prizes will be awarded to the author(s) of the three best essays from among all entries, as determined by the panel of judges, with at least one prize awarded to a student. In the case of a winning entry with multiple authors, the prize will be divided equally between the authors.

CNS reserves the right to select fewer than three winners if, in its sole discretion, it does not receive a sufficient number of eligible and qualified entries. Judges' decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to this competition.

The winning papers will become the property of CNS and may be published in a future issue of The Nonproliferation Review or as a CNS Occasional Paper. CNS will have sole discretion over the manner and timing of publication. Any and all federal, state, and local taxes on a prize, and any other costs, fees, and expenses associated with the acceptance and use of a prize are the sole responsibility of the winners.

Ownership/Use

All submissions shall become the property of CNS and The Nonproliferation Review for a period not to exceed two months from the submission deadline of June 3, 2013. All rights will revert to the author(s) by that date or upon receipt of a letter from The Nonproliferation Review releasing such rights, whichever comes first.

General/Legal

By participating, each entrant agrees: (a) to abide by these rules and the decisions of CNS and the judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects relating to this competition; (b) to release, discharge and hold harmless CNS, and its parent, affiliates, subsidiaries, and the respective officers, directors, shareholders, employees, agents and representatives of the forgoing (collectively, "Released Parties") from any and all injuries, liability, losses and damages of any kind to persons, including death, or property resulting, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from entrant's participation in the competition or any competition-related activity, the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any awarded prize (including any travel or activity related thereto) or Released Parties' use of any of the rights granted herein; and (c) to the use of his/her name, city, state, and country of residence, essay and/or likeness for advertising, publicity and promotional purposes in any and all media, now or hereafter known, worldwide and on the internet, and in perpetuity by CNS and its designees, without compensation (unless prohibited by law) or additional consents from entrant or any third party and without prior notice, approval or inspection, and to execute specific consent to such use if asked to do so.

Released Parties are not responsible for late, lost, damaged, misdirected, incomplete, inaccurate, illegible, undeliverable, delayed, or destroyed entries or e-mail; or for any computer, network, mechanical, typographical, printing, human or other error or difficulty relating to or in connection with this competition, including, without limitation, errors or difficulties which may occur in connection with the administration of the competition, the processing or judging of entries, the announcement of the prizes or in any competition-related materials. Released Parties are not responsible for entries that are transmitted late or incorrectly or are lost or misdirected for any reason including computer, telephone, paper transfer, human or other error; or for electronic, computer, or telephone malfunction or error, including inability to access any web site associated with the competition or to process any submission thereon. CNS reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, modify or suspend any portion of the competition should causes beyond its control corrupt the administration or security of the competition.

Questions or comments

E-mail The Nonproliferation Review editor Stephen Schwartz at Stephen.Schwartz@miis.edu.