PEFS Global Politics Essay Competition 2026
Political Education For Students (PEFS)
📌About the Event
The PEFS Global Politics Essay Competition 2026 is an international essay competition by Political Education For Students (PEFS) for young people interested in global politics, international relations, governance, democracy, climate politics, populism, security, Brexit, and global power debates. Participants choose one essay question from eight global politics topics and submit a researched, analytical essay. The competition is open to entrants from any country, making Indian students eligible as well.
ℹ️ Event Details
- Theme/area: Global politics, international relations, global governance, democracy and current affairs
- Mode of conduct: Online registration and PDF essay submission by email
- Submission format: PDF document
- Submission email: office@pefs.co.uk
- Essay topics: 8 questions are available; participants must choose only one
- Word limit: Maximum 2,500 words, excluding diagrams, data tables, endnotes, bibliography, and authorship declaration
- International eligibility: Open to entrants from any country.
📅 Important Dates
- Early registration discount deadline: Friday, 29 May 2026
- Discounted admin fee period: 30 May 2026 to 31 July 2026
- Final registration/admin fee period: 1 August 2026 to 7 September 2026
- Essay submission deadline: Monday, 7 September 2026, 6 PM GMT
- Winner notification: End of September 2026
🎯 Eligibility & Rules
- Eligibility – Junior category: Students aged 18 or under who are in school, sixth form, college, or employment
- Senior category: Young people aged 18 to 22, including those at university, in other education, employment, or not attending university
- Country eligibility: Students from any country can participate
- Academic referee: Junior category entrants must provide an academic referee’s email address
- Essay rule: Each participant must answer only one question
- Referencing rule: All sources must be referenced using an accepted and consistent referencing style
- File naming rule: PDF should be saved as LAST NAME – FIRST NAME – QUESTION NUMBER
- Anonymity rule: Participant name should not be used inside the essay document
- Originality rule: All work must be the entrant’s own
- Plagiarism/AI check: Entries will be processed through plagiarism and AI detection software
- Evaluation process: A detailed scoring rubric is not published, but PEFS states that questions require applied knowledge, analysis, evaluation, and critical, persuasive communication
- Final decision: Judges’ decisions are final; no correspondence will be entered into
- ID verification: Successful entrants may need to provide photographic proof of identity and date of birth
🏆 Benefits for the Participants
- Junior category – 1st prize: £500 plus a free full-day workshop for 60 students at the winner’s school
- 2nd prize: £100 plus a half-day workshop for 60 students at the winner’s school
- 3rd prize: £100
- Top 3 winners receive a free annual subscription to the Politics Classroom online community
- Senior category – 1st prize: £500 plus a 45-minute career/strategy consultation
- 2nd prize: £100 plus a 45-minute politics career consultation
- 3rd prize: £100
- Top 3 winners receive a free annual subscription to the Politics Classroom online community