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Call for papers are now open for the 2025 Baxter Family Competition on Federalism! This contest is open to law and political science students/PhD candidates, recent graduates, and junior practitioners or scholars from around the world.
Opportunity Details
The overarching goal of the Essay Competition is to advance research and foster informed debate on federalism. Essays are evaluated by a jury comprised of world renown experts on federalism.
The theme of this year’s edition is Federalism: Thinking Outside the Box
Papers must be written in English or French and be a maximum of 8000 words in English and 8800 words in French.
Prizes ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 CND and the chance to present one’s research at the Baxter Family Symposium on Federalism held in Montréal in Spring 2025.
Author eligibility
All undergraduate or graduate students in law or political science students, as well as junior scholars, lawyers or practitioners who graduated in these disciplines with five (5) years of working experience or less, from anywhere around the world.
To be eligible, authors must either
Be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in law or political science;
Hold a law or political science degree and have obtained their most recent degree (in law or political science, or otherwise) after February 7th, 2020; or
Have been admitted to the Bar (or the local equivalent) after February 7th, 2020.
Papers may be co-authored, to the extent that each author is eligible. If the submitted paper is selected, the Prize would be divided between authors.
Submissions are to be emailed to Professor Johanne Poirier, Peter MacKell Chair in Federalism, at [email protected]
Criteria for submission
Original text in English or in French;
Maximum of 8,000 words for texts in English and of 8,800 words for texts in French (including, in both languages, references). The word count should appear on the first page;
Text not yet submitted for publication as of February 7th, 2025;
Main text written in 12-point font, double-spaced, with 2.5 cm (1 inch) margins on all sides;
Numbered in the upper right corner;
Submitted in Microsoft Word format;
The main text should be anonymised;
Must include complete references in footnotes;
Must include an abstract summarizing the main question and main conclusions (maximum 200 words).
It should be accompanied by a distinct document that includes
title
author’s name
author’s contact information (e-mail, phone number, address)
statement affirming the eligibility for the Competition (University affiliation or date of graduation)
unpublished status of the paper.
For any further inquiries, please email [email protected].
Apply for Baxter Family Competition on Federalism