John Locke Global Essay Prize 2026 International Relations Prompts Breakdown

Feb 4

The John Locke Institute has just released the prompts for their international essay writing competitions for high school students. They have released three prompts for each of the following categories, philosophy, politics, economics, history, law, psychology, international relations, public policy, science & technology and theology. Each essay must address only one of the questions in your chosen subject category, and must not exceed 2000 words (not counting diagrams, tables of data, endnotes, bibliography or authorship declaration).

To be eligible to compete, one's 19th birthday must fall after 31 May, 2026. Given this easily satisfied requirement for high school students the world over, many compete in this competition, making it incredibly competitive.

The John Locke Competition is one of the most prestigious essay writing competitions for high school students. It ranks alongside the Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards as a humanities extracurricular activity that would impress admissions officers. Placing competitively in this competition could be what convinces an admissions officer at an elite university to admit an applicant.

One major difference between the John Locke competition and the Scholastic Writing and Arts Awards is that it has a right-wing, instead of a left-wing focus. Past winning essays have argued for fringe ideas like anarcho-capitalism. The John Locke Institute is committed to upholding the principles of classical liberalism espoused by John Locke, the founder of liberalism. Being liberal in Europe has a different connotation than it does in the U.S. While liberalism in the U.S. is associated with center-left politics like the Democratic Party, in Europe, it denotes what Americans would call libertarians, who believe in laissez-faire economic policies and upholding individual freedom to the point that it might enable individuals to infringe on the liberties of others, such as individuals having the right to deny service to people at their place of business due to their sexual orientation.

Despite the competition's right-wing focus, and the well-known left-wing bias of academics and admissions officers, high school students can place competitively without arguing for positions that would decrease their likability with a left-wing audience when applying to college.

We have extensive experience guiding applicants through this competition and are proud to have students who received at least a commendation from the judges. In this article, we will outline the three international relations questions they ask and provide resources, along with cliff notes for these resources, to help start one's journey towards drafting compelling answers to these questions.

International Relations Q1: Does foreign aid help or hurt poor people?

John Locke's Works

1. Two Treatises of Government (1689)

Chapter V on property argues wealth is created through labor mixing with resources
Discusses the "enough and as good" proviso regarding resource distribution
Relevant for examining whether aid transfers versus productive capacity matter more
Chapter VI on paternal power warns against treating adults as incapable of self-governance

2. Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest (1691)

Analyzes how capital flows affect economic development
Discusses relationship between money, trade, and national prosperity
Framework for understanding economic effects of aid transfers
Examines how external interventions can distort markets

3. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)

Book IV discusses how we reason about empirical matters with uncertain evidence
Relevant for evaluating conflicting studies on aid effectiveness
Addresses epistemic humility in complex causal questions

4. A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)

Argues against paternalistic intervention in others' affairs
Suggests limits to what outsiders can legitimately impose
Framework for examining whether aid conditions respect recipient autonomy

Historical Resources

1. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" (1776)

Book IV critiques mercantilism and argues for free trade as development path
Argues nations grow wealthy through productive labor, not transfers
Framework for skepticism about aid as development strategy
Discusses how "invisible hand" coordinates development better than central planning

2. John Stuart Mill's "Principles of Political Economy" (1848)

Book V, Chapter XI discusses government intervention in economic affairs
Examines when external assistance helps versus creates dependency
Relevant for understanding 19th-century debates on colonial development

3. The Marshall Plan documents (1948-1952)

Primary sources on successful post-WWII European reconstruction aid
Often cited as model for development aid
Relevant for examining conditions under which aid succeeded

4. Harry Truman's Point Four Program speech (1949)

Inaugural address launching modern development aid era
Articulates rationale for technical assistance to developing nations
Essential context for understanding aid's origins and stated purposes

5. W.W. Rostow's "The Stages of Economic Growth" (1960)

Influential modernization theory arguing aid could trigger "takeoff"
Subtitle: "A Non-Communist Manifesto"
Framework that justified massive aid programs
Important for understanding theoretical foundations of aid

Contemporary Resources

1. William Easterly's "The White Man's Burden" (2006) and "The Tyranny of Experts" (2013)

Comprehensive critique of top-down aid from former World Bank economist
Argues aid has failed because it ignores local knowledge and incentives
Distinguishes failed "Planners" from successful "Searchers"
Most influential contemporary aid skeptic

2. Dambisa Moyo's "Dead Aid" (2009)

African economist argues aid has harmed African development
Proposes trade, investment, and market access as alternatives
Argues aid creates dependency and undermines governance
Influential critique from Global South perspective

3. Jeffrey Sachs's "The End of Poverty" (2005)

Argues massive aid increase could end extreme poverty
Proposes "clinical economics" diagnosing development problems
Defends Millennium Villages Project
Most influential contemporary aid advocate

4. Angus Deaton's "The Great Escape" (2013)

Nobel laureate's analysis of global poverty and health
Argues aid often undermines institutional development
Distinguishes humanitarian relief from development aid
Nuanced critique that acknowledges aid's successes and failures

5. Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo's "Poor Economics" (2011)

Nobel laureates' evidence-based approach to poverty interventions
Uses randomized controlled trials to evaluate specific programs
Shows some interventions work, others don't
Framework for moving beyond ideology to evidence

6. Chris Blattman and Paul Niehaus, "Show Them the Money" (Foreign Affairs, 2014)

Argues for direct cash transfers instead of traditional aid
Reviews evidence showing cash transfers often outperform programs
Proposes radical simplification of aid delivery

7. Nina Munk's "The Idealist" (2013)

Investigative account of Jeffrey Sachs's Millennium Villages Project
Documents gap between ambitions and results
Case study in aid project implementation challenges

8. World Bank and IMF evaluation reports

Official assessments of structural adjustment programs
Documents mixed results of conditional aid
Essential empirical evidence on aid effectiveness

Key Questions and Issues to Address

Definitional Challenges

What counts as "foreign aid"? Humanitarian relief, development assistance, budget support, technical assistance?
Who are "poor people"? Absolute poverty, relative poverty, specific vulnerable groups?
What does "help" or "hurt" mean? Income, capabilities, institutional development, autonomy?

Theoretical Frameworks

Does Locke's labor theory suggest aid transfers are less valuable than enabling productive capacity?
How does Locke's skepticism of paternalism apply to aid conditionality?
Should we evaluate aid by intentions, processes, or outcomes?

Empirical Evidence

What do randomized controlled trials show about specific interventions?
How do we explain cases where aid-recipient countries grew (South Korea) and where they stagnated (many African nations)?
What does the natural experiment of the Marshall Plan reveal?

Mechanisms of Harm

Does aid undermine domestic accountability by making governments responsive to donors rather than citizens?
Does aid create dependency and reduce incentives for self-sufficiency?
Does aid distort local markets and crowd out domestic production?
Does aid empower corrupt elites who capture the benefits?

Mechanisms of Help

Can aid provide essential public goods (health, education) that markets underprovide?
Can aid help countries escape "poverty traps" requiring coordinated investment?
Does humanitarian aid save lives regardless of development effects?
Can well-designed aid strengthen rather than undermine institutions?

Policy Implications

If aid is harmful, what alternatives should wealthy nations pursue?
If aid is helpful, how should it be designed and delivered?
What role should recipient country ownership play in aid decisions?

International Relations Q2: Is the US economy harmed by cheap imports from China?

John Locke's Works

1. Some Considerations of the Consequences of the Lowering of Interest (1691)

Locke's direct engagement with trade policy questions
Discusses relationship between trade balances and national prosperity
Argues against mercantilist obsession with trade surpluses
Framework for evaluating whether bilateral deficits matter

2. Two Treatises of Government (1689)

Chapter V discusses how trade enables specialization and wealth creation
Property rights framework applies to international commercial relations
Relevant for examining whether trade restrictions violate natural liberty

3. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)

Book IV addresses how to reason about complex empirical questions
Relevant for evaluating competing economic models and evidence
Discusses how to weigh expert disagreement

Historical Resources

1. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" (1776)

Book IV's systematic critique of mercantilism
Argues imports benefit consumers and enable specialization
"What is prudence in the conduct of every private family can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom"
Foundational case for free trade

2. David Ricardo's "On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation" (1817)

Chapter VII develops theory of comparative advantage
Argues trade benefits both parties even when one is more efficient at everything
Foundation of free trade economics
Essential theoretical framework

3. Friedrich List's "The National System of Political Economy" (1841)

German economist's case for infant industry protection
Argues free trade benefits developed nations at developing nations' expense
Historical precedent for strategic trade policy
Counterargument to pure free trade position

4. Alexander Hamilton's "Report on Manufactures" (1791)

American founding father's case for industrial policy
Argues new nations need protection to develop manufacturing
Historical U.S. precedent for trade restrictions
Relevant for examining whether U.S. should now protect its industries

5. The Smoot-Hawley Tariff debates (1930)

Historical example of protectionist response to economic anxiety
Economists' petition against tariffs
Subsequent trade war and economic damage
Cautionary tale about protectionism

Contemporary Resources

1. David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson's "China Shock" research (2013-2021)

Landmark studies documenting local labor market effects of Chinese imports
Shows concentrated job losses in manufacturing communities
Finds limited adjustment through labor mobility
Most influential recent challenge to free trade consensus

2. Paul Krugman's work on trade theory and policy

Nobel laureate's "new trade theory" incorporating economies of scale
Recent acknowledgment that economists underestimated adjustment costs
Argues for compensation for trade losers, not trade restrictions
Represents evolving mainstream economic view

3. Michael Pettis's "Trade Wars Are Class Wars" (2020)

Argues trade imbalances reflect domestic inequality in both countries
Chinese savings glut and American consumption patterns are interconnected
Framework for understanding trade as distributional rather than national issue
Heterodox but influential perspective

4. Robert Lighthizer's writings and testimony

Trump administration U.S. Trade Representative
Articulates strategic case for tariffs on China
Argues China's practices constitute unfair competition
Represents protectionist policy perspective

5. The Peterson Institute for International Economics studies

Research on consumer benefits of Chinese imports
Estimates welfare effects of tariffs
Generally supports free trade position
Important empirical evidence on consumer gains

6. Brad DeLong and Lawrence Summers, "Equipment Investment and Economic Growth" (1991)

Research on how capital goods imports enable growth
Relevant for understanding how cheap Chinese inputs benefit U.S. producers
Framework for understanding supply chain economics

7. Susan Houseman's research on manufacturing statistics

Shows official statistics may overstate U.S. manufacturing productivity growth
Argues import price declines distort output measures
Complicates assessment of trade's effects on manufacturing

Key Questions and Issues to Address

Definitional Challenges

What does "harmed" mean? GDP, employment, wages, consumer welfare, national security?
What is "the US economy"? Aggregate statistics, or distribution across workers, consumers, and firms?
Over what time frame should we evaluate effects?

Theoretical Frameworks

Does comparative advantage theory predict mutual gains from US-China trade?
Does Locke's property rights framework support free trade as natural liberty?
How should we weigh concentrated losses against diffuse gains?

Empirical Evidence

What do the "China Shock" studies actually show about local labor markets?
How much have consumers benefited from lower prices?
What happened to workers who lost manufacturing jobs?

Winners and Losers

Who benefits from cheap Chinese imports? (Consumers, retailers, firms using Chinese inputs)
Who is harmed? (Competing manufacturers, their workers, their communities)
How do gains and losses compare in magnitude?

Beyond Simple Trade

How do intellectual property practices affect the analysis?
Does Chinese industrial policy constitute unfair competition?
How do supply chain dependencies affect national security?

Policy Implications

If trade is beneficial overall, how should losers be compensated?
If trade causes net harm, what restrictions would improve outcomes?
How do tariffs' effects differ from other policy responses?

Dynamic Considerations

Does current trade pattern affect future U.S. productive capacity?
How does Chinese trade affect innovation and technological development?
What are long-term strategic implications of current trade patterns?

International Relations Q3: Should a coalition of countries (or of billionaires) run an experiment with a libertarian microstate?

John Locke's Works

1. Two Treatises of Government (1689)

Chapter II establishes the state of nature as baseline before government
Chapter VIII discusses how political societies legitimately form through consent
Chapter IX examines why people leave state of nature and form governments
Essential framework for evaluating what minimal government requires
Chapter XIX on dissolution of government addresses when new political arrangements are legitimate

2. A Letter Concerning Toleration (1689)

Argues for limiting state authority to civil interests
Framework for defining minimal legitimate government functions
Relevant for examining what "libertarian" governance would entail

3. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689)

Book IV discusses how we gain knowledge through experience
Supports experimental approach to understanding social arrangements
Framework for valuing policy experimentation

Historical Resources

1. Early American colonial charters

Maryland (1632), Pennsylvania (1681), Georgia (1732)
Historical examples of deliberate political experiments
Varying degrees of religious, economic, and political freedom
Demonstrates feasibility of intentional community founding

2. The Federalist Papers (1787-1788)

Hamilton, Madison, and Jay on constitutional design
Federalist No. 1: "whether societies of men are really capable... of establishing good government from reflection and choice"
Framework for thinking about deliberate institutional design

3. Robert Owen's New Harmony (1825-1827)

Utopian socialist experiment in Indiana
Example of intentional community attempting novel governance
Failure provides lessons about experimental communities
Historical precedent for social experimentation

4. The Free State Project (2001-present)

Libertarian movement to concentrate in New Hampshire
Contemporary example of attempting to create liberty-oriented jurisdiction
Results provide evidence about feasibility and effects

5. Hong Kong and Singapore development

Examples of economically liberal governance producing rapid development
Often cited as evidence for free-market policies
Complicated by authoritarian political elements
Historical cases relevant to libertarian governance

6. Enlightenment utopian literature

Thomas More's "Utopia" (1516)
Francis Bacon's "New Atlantis" (1627)
Tradition of imagining ideal societies
Context for experimental governance proposals

Contemporary Resources

1. The Seasteading Institute and Patri Friedman's work

Proposes floating cities in international waters
Attempts to create new jurisdictions for governance experimentation
Backed by Peter Thiel and other libertarian billionaires
Most developed contemporary proposal for libertarian microstates

2. Paul Romer's "Charter Cities" proposal

Nobel laureate's plan for special governance zones
Argues developing countries could import institutions
Proposed Honduras experiment (ZEDEs)
Academic framework for governance experimentation

3. The Próspera (Honduras) experiment

Actual attempt to create special economic zone with distinct governance
Backed by libertarian investors
Controversial implementation and recent challenges
Real-world test case for the question

4. Michael Strong and LEAP Zones

Proposals for "Labor, Economic, Administrative, and Political" zones
Framework for creating better governance through competition
Argues exit options discipline governments

5. James Scott's "Seeing Like a State" (1998)

Critiques high-modernist social engineering projects
Argues top-down schemes ignore local knowledge
Framework for skepticism about planned communities
Relevant whether applied to libertarian or other experiments

6. The Economist special reports on special economic zones

Comprehensive coverage of SEZs worldwide
Documents successes (Shenzhen) and failures
Empirical evidence on governance experimentation
Provides comparative perspective

7. Balaji Srinivasan's "The Network State" (2022)

Proposes building new nations through online communities first
Argues technology enables new forms of political organization
Contemporary libertarian-adjacent vision for new states
Influential in tech circles

8. Critiques from development scholars

Concerns about neo-colonialism in charter city proposals
Questions about whose consent is required for new jurisdictions
Arguments that experiments may exploit vulnerable populations

Key Questions and Issues to Address

Definitional Challenges

What constitutes a "libertarian" microstate? Minarchist, anarcho-capitalist, or classical liberal?
What makes something an "experiment" versus simply a new state?
How small is a "microstate" and does size affect feasibility?

Theoretical Frameworks

Does Locke's social contract theory support deliberate state creation?
How does consent work for experiments affecting future residents?
Is political experimentation analogous to scientific experimentation?

Feasibility Questions

Where could such a microstate be located? (International waters, purchased territory, special zones)
What legal framework would govern its creation?
How would it interact with existing international system?

Legitimacy Concerns

Whose consent is required to create new political entities?
Do wealthy individuals have the right to create new jurisdictions?
How do we address concerns about exploitation or neo-colonialism?

Arguments For

Competition between jurisdictions could improve governance globally
Experimentation could generate valuable knowledge about institutions
Exit options could discipline poorly governed existing states
Respects freedom of association and voluntary community

Arguments Against

May allow wealthy to escape obligations to existing societies
Could create race to bottom in labor, environmental, tax standards
Historical record of intentional communities is mostly failure
May exploit desperate populations as experimental subjects

Design Questions

What institutions would be essential versus optional?
How would security, courts, and property rights function?
How would citizenship and exit rights work?
What happens if the experiment fails?

Ethical Considerations

Is it ethical to experiment with political institutions on real people?
How do we protect experimental "subjects" from harm?
What obligations do experimenters have to those affected?

If you are overwhelmed by the number of sources and complexity of answering these questions, we understand. English teachers don't prepare high school students to tackle such formidable challenges in international relations. But we do. Schedule a free consultation with a John Locke competition writing expert today and learn how to unpack all of these sources to write a coherent and logically sound 2000 word essay which will earn you a competitive placing in this competition and impress admission officers.

Work With Our John Locke Expert Coaches

Cosmic College Consulting has helped students earn shortlists, commendations, and prizes in the John Locke Competition. Our three expert coaches have collectively supervised 50+ John Locke essays and bring deep expertise in philosophy, politics, economics, and academic writing.

Marcus Lewis

John Locke Specialist | Scholastic Writing Expert

Supervised 25+ John Locke Competition essays with approximately 10 students earning commendations
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Experience across fiction, satire, and argumentative essay forms
Coached students for Columbia Undergraduate Law Review Essay Competition (1 shortlist)
Additional experience with Profiles in Courage, Harvard Economics Essay, Bowseat, Engineer Girl, and Patricia Grodd Poetry competitions

Dr. Jason Goldfarb

PhD, Duke University | Published Academic & Periodical Writer

Supervised 25+ John Locke Competition essays, students have earned shortlists, Junior Prize placements, and top commendations
Supervised 10+ independent student research papers
Guided student publications in TeenInk, Scholastic, and IEEE Harvard
Published author in professional academic journals and popular periodicals
Brings doctoral-level expertise in constructing rigorous academic arguments

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