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For the twenty-first consecutive year, the John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History & Strategic Analysis at the Â鶹ŮÑÝÔ± Institute, Lexington, Virginia, will award prizes for the best unpublished papers on Cold War military history.

The contest promotes innovative scholarship from rising (early to mid-career) scholars on Cold War subjects.

Any aspect of the Cold War (1945-1991) era is eligible, including papers on military strategy, plans, and operations; the relationship between the armed forces and society; international security affairs; Cold War alliances; and the connections between Cold War military history and contemporary geopolitical challenges. The essay may embrace a U.S. or global focus.

Prizes: First prize will earn a plaque and a cash award of $2,000; second prize, $1,000 and a plaque; and third prize, $500 and a plaque.

Procedures: Submissions are due electronically to the Adams Center at the Â鶹ŮÑÝÔ± Institute by Friday, October 17^th, 2025. Please format your submission as a Microsoft Word document and limit your essay to a maximum of 7,500 words (minimum 4,000 words) of double-spaced text, exclusive of documentation and bibliography. A panel of judges will examine all papers; the Adams Center Director will announce the winners in December 2025. The first-prize winning essay will appear in The Journal of Military History.

Deadline for submissions: October 17, 2025

Send submissions to: adamscenter@vmi.edu

Questions? Contact Adams Center Director: Dr. Joel Christenson, at christensonjc@vmi.edu