Submissions for The Hamiltonian
The Hamiltonian welcomes submissions in two categories of content: essays and book reviews. We focus on topics and themes pertaining to U.S. foreign policy, national security, economic statecraft, political development, and human rights. You can review the submission criteria, AHS style guide, deadlines, and prizes, and submit your piece for consideration at the bottom of this page. Your submissions can be adapted from previous research/coursework, but they cannot be under consideration by any other journal. If you are struggling to find a topic, please click here for a list of potential ideas.
Style Guide & Submission Guidelines
Please carefully review our style guide. Submissions that fail to conform will not be considered.
Essays (1500-2500 words)
- The essay must make a clear argument, and the conclusion of the piece should be clearly implied in the introduction.
- Focus on flow and clarity.
- Think about diction—word choice has a huge impact on the argument.
- Hamiltonian essays are appeals to practical reason, arguing there is a specific duty or advantage to viewing or addressing an issue in a specific way. The language that mainly aims to elicit emotion is likely superfluous and undesirable in such pieces.
- Be careful with the use of historical analogies. They may illustrate a point; they should not provide evidence for it.
Book Reviews (750-1500 Words)
- Describe the thesis of the book as well the method and sources the author uses to the reader.
- Avoid a mere summary and find a way to disagree in some significant way with the author you are reviewing.
- Be fair to the author, evaluate the words he/she wrote, and don’t criticize for something he/she never set out to do.
For more detailed guidance on various political writing, we recommend Adam Garfinkle’s Political Writing: A Guide to the Essentials, from which some of the above tips are adapted.
Deadlines & Prizes
Submissions for the upcoming edition will stay open until February 9th, 2026. Please direct questions related to The Hamiltonian to Lauren at lauren@hamsoc.org. Submissions are open to the Society’s membership.