European Policy Prize

European Policy Prize 2023 (CLOSED)

The current idea of Europe as a “normative power” is part of a pursuit to identify the bloc’s degree of power in present times. Europe is regarded as a power which can influence international relations by setting a new standard of rules. The rules adopted through an unilateral regulatory globalisation (the “Brussels effect”) occur through market mechanisms, the traditional power foundational tool of the EU. This effect means that the EU can enact laws both within its territory and extraterritorially.  This leads to the “Europeanisation” of global commerce.

Given present predicaments, the following question looms over European political discourse: can the EU as an institution remain influential in times affected by both the aftermath of a global pandemic and the Ukraine invasion?

Current times increasingly see a rise in uncertainty for policymakers and world leaders, pushing them to re-think governance strategies for the road ahead. 

With this in mind, the European Student Think Tank in partnership with the Institute for Greater Europe (IGE), and the Student Think Tank for Europe-Asia Relations (STEAR), is delighted to open submissions to the European Policy Prize 2023, designed to give students a chance to envision real policy solutions and have conversations with those who decide and dictate European policy.

Our theme for this year is “Normative Power Europe: grasping the role of the bloc in the new global order”.

We are inviting students and recent graduates to produce a policy memo of 1,500–2,500 words in English answering one of the following questions:

• The world is undergoing a transition with new geo-political links, military alliances, new technologies, and the rebuilding of economies. How can the EU mitigate these changes and establish itself as a power in the newly-transitioned democratic order?

OR

• What pioneering policy solution should Europe as a normative power apply to become more democratised in the decades ahead?

OR

• If you were associated with a project called “Remodel Global Europe”, how would you do it? What laws and policies would you change, and specifically for which sectors? 
  • What would the role of the European Commission be?

The following are our judges who are supported by the EST Editorial Office (click on their names for more information about them):

• Neil Macfarlane
• Rafael Loss
• Diederick van Wijk
• Annelou Snippe

Policy memos will be judged on originality, creativity, fluency of thought, and clarity of their arguments. Three winners will be selected, one for each of the questions. Each will have their article published in the EST’s journal “European Policy Review”. However, from the three winners one primary winner will be selected, who will receive the prizes listed below.

The winner of the competition will receive the following prizes:

1. Publication of the winning article in the EST’s European Policy Review journal, in the IGE’s The Greater European Journal, and in STEAR’s Journal of Asia and Europe Relations
2. Publication of the winning article in IGE’s magazine
3. Copy of the IGE book: Places in the Sun: Post-Colonial Dialogues in Europe and Beyond
4. Bag of goodies from IGE
5. Opportunity to go on STEAR’s podcast for a special episode
6. One-on-one meeting with a judge whose background best fits the winner’s article topic

The deadline for submissions to the competition is the 15th January. 

All memos should be:

• Original pieces and currently unpublished
• Written in English
• Submitted with an abstract of up to 200 words and 5 keywords
• Submitted via Google Docs links
• In APA 7 reference style
• Word count: 1,500–2,500 words

ALL ENTRIES NEED TO BE SUBMITTED VIA THE FORM:  

https://forms.gle/4n35jYaLj1mRYgPeA

In case of any queries, please contact: editorinchief@esthinktank.com, cc’ing to deputy.editor@esthinktank.com 

We wish you the very best of luck, and look forward to reading your submissions!