Polis is a publication launched by the Bristol International Affairs Society, to publish interesting and thoughtful work and essays from students of all sorts.

Commissions are now available, and they are listed below, with a table of the commissions at the end:

Commissions

Essays and Features are to range between 800-1200 words
Opinions are to range between 800-1000 words

Politics

Essay – Do economic sanctions actually work?

It is common practice in international relations to impose sanctions on countries that have been especially belligerent or non co-operative. But with Iran, Cuba, and now Russia being famous examples of heavily sanctioned countries and their regimes standing strong despite this, the efficacy of sanctions have been drawn into question. 

Do sanctions work to promote a more democratic world by punishing dissident actors? Or is it a weapon used to punish enemies, that only ends up pushing the victims away from the goals of the sanctioner?

Opinion – Is the Starmer ministry headed the right way?

It seems every day that we watch the Labour party announce a policy more unpopular than their last, and have polls shift another point towards Reform. 

For this opinion piece we ask for you to consider whether the Labour party is doing all it can to stop a resurgent right from spelling electoral doom for Starmer’s premiership – and if they are not, what they should do to fix this.

This is to range between 800-1000 words.

Feature – The nostalgia of Empire

The collapse of formerly great empires often leads to identity crises in the successor states of these empires. Britain is no stranger to this feeling, and neither is Turkey, Russia, or France. 

This essay would have you write about how this memory of empire can influence the policy and actions of these nations, many years after their empire has fallen.

History

Essay – How capitalist shock therapy made modern Russia

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, many post-soviet states underwent shock therapy, a collection of policies rapidly implemented into an economy to attempt to quickly liberalise an economy and move the planned economies of the Soviet Union to a market economy. 

For many post-soviet states and especially Russia however, this did not go to plan. This essay would have you write on the consequences of this shock therapy to Russia, and how this has moulded Russia into the country it is today.

Opinion – The selective teaching of history in schools

States that have been on the winning side of history tend to have blind spots in their national curriculums when it comes to their national biographies. French pupils are still taught about the benefits of colonialism, and most British pupils will never really learn all that much about the world-spanning empire the country commanded – save for certain A-level history students.

This article would question whether students are getting taught enough of the history they should be learning, and whether any changes need to be made to systems in the UK, or elsewhere.

Feature – Surveillance through time

The last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire was stalked consistently by British agents until the day of his death on a hotel floor in France, in 1893. Though we may not have personal agents watching over us in this way, in this day and age it can feel like everything one does in a public space is known by someone, somewhere. And this isn’t unfounded – Bristol council runs the second most public-space security cameras in the whole of the UK after all.

This feature would have you trace the origins of mass-surveillance systems, how that has evolved into what we have now, and surveillance could look in the future.

Culture

Essay – What the red poppy means for different people

The British Armed Forces have seen many engagements across the world done in British interests. As a consequence, the red poppy outside of the UK can come to represent the more ignoble acts of British forces extraterritorially, rather than the symbol of remembrance and hope it can be here.

This essay asks you to consider what the poppy may represent for different peoples, and if the poppy is the symbol of remembrance it claims to be.

Opinion – What does it mean to be British?

What does it mean to be British? Are there people who look, and do not look British? What does that mean for the people here? 

These are important questions especially relevant to our current political climate, and this opinion piece would have you dive into these questions, their controversy, and understand how the meaning of British-ness has changed since it went from an island off the coast of Europe, to a global empire.

Feature – Your choice of art, poem, story, or other artistic expression, and its impact on wider society and culture

Lucifer, by German artist Franz Stuck, was a painting so unnerving that when it hung in the palace of Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria, his ministers would not walk past it without making the sign of the cross as they went by. 

There are countless other works that have evoked strong reactions from observers, from comic strips to poems, and this commission would have you propose one such artistic expression and write on why it was so exceptional, or emotive.

If you have an idea, want to work with us, or want to apply for a commission, send us an email at: polisbristol@gmail.com.

You can also find the editors and people who helped set this up weekly, at the International Affairs Society on Mondays.