Pathfinder: A National Security Essay Contest
2025 Pathfinder Winners
Commentary
An Overlooked National Security Challenge: Maritime Supply Chain Security
In recent years, U.S. policymakers have paid increasing attention to the vulnerabilities of supply chains, especially in terms of securing access to critical minerals. Yet the...
Commentary
Securing America’s Grid Through Transformers and Workforce Resilience
Cyber threats to America’s electricity grid are real and intensifying, and policymakers discussing grid security often focus solely on them. However, the US electric grid has ...
Commentary
Vertical Integration of Rare Earth Elements for U.S. Autonomous Dominion
America’s national security is imperiled by its dependence on China for the rare earth elements (REEs) essential to artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous systems, and preci...
Overview
Pathfinder, run by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) and Breaking Defense, is a writing competition for graduate students and early-career professionals. Responding to a prompt, authors should analyze a national security challenge and suggest a way to address it in 800–1,000 words. This competition will give the next generation of national security leaders an opportunity to have their writing and analysis published and promoted by both CNAS and Breaking Defense.
2025 Applications are now closed. Check back for details on the next contest.
Prompt
Amid growing competition with China, war between Russia and Ukraine, ongoing conflict in the Middle East, domestic security challenges, and growing economic uncertainty, there is a lot on policymakers’ plates. What is a national security challenge that isn’t talked about enough? How can the U.S. policymaking community address it in a bold, innovative, and bipartisan way?
Rules
- Applicants must either be enrolled in graduate school OR an early-career professional (one to five years of experience, excluding military service).
- Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, enrolled in a U.S. educational institution, or legally reside in the United States.
- Complete applications include:
- Résumé
- 800–1,000-word essay that analyzes a national security challenge and offers at least one actionable policy recommendation.
- The essay must be the applicant’s own ideas, research, and writing. It must not have been published elsewhere and will be exclusive to this CNAS–Breaking Defense collaboration. To cite their research, authors should add hyperlinks to the sources throughout the text, rather than footnotes/endnotes.
- The essay must not include any content generated by a generative AI tool, unless it is as an element of research on AI itself. (For example, the author may use generative AI tools to generate text for illustrative purposes to demonstrate the qualities of AI-generated content. This text must be quoted and cited as being AI-generated.)
Judging Rubric
- Originality—Does the author offer an original but practical analysis of and solution to a national security challenge?
- Quality—Does the author write in a clear and persuasive manner? Does the author analyze a national security challenge in a logical way? Does the author support their arguments with reputable sources?
- Actionable—Does the author provide at least one concrete and specific recommendation that policymakers can act upon?
- Knowledge of subject matter—Does the author demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter in both their essay and their résumé?
Prizes
- The first-place winner will receive a $1000 honorarium.
- The second-place winner will receive a $500 honorarium.
- The third-place winner will receive a $250 honorarium.
- All three winners will have their pieces edited and published by CNAS and Breaking Defense. All three winners will also receive an invitation to attend the CNAS 2026 National Security Conference in person.