Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission is sent by email to politikonjournal@iapss.org as two separate Word files: a cover page and an anonymized manuscript.
  • The submission files are in MS Word format (and if one or more appendices are in another format, an explanation has been provided in the submission e-mail).
  • The cover page lists: title; author names, affiliations and countries; emails and ORCID iDs; short bios (max. 150 words); abstract and keywords; funding and conflicts of interest; a statement on any use of AI.
  • The cover page states whether generative AI tools were used for language editing and, if so, names the tool. Manuscripts will be screened with Crossref Similarity Check.
  • The manuscript contains no author names, affiliations, acknowledgements or funding details; self-citations are in the third person; document properties are cleared.
  • The manuscript is unpublished and not under review elsewhere.
  • The authors have no other manuscript under review at this journal.
  • The manuscript follows the author guidelines or a consistent standard citation style.

Author Guidelines

Important Notice

All submissions must be sent via email to politikonjournal@iapss.org. 

These instructions are designed to help ensure your paper moves smoothly through the peer review, production, and publication process. Please follow them carefully to meet the journal’s formatting and submission requirements.

Editorial Process and Communication

Evaluation Stages

  • All research articles, notes, and review essays are first reviewed by the Editorial Board.

  • Submissions may be desk-rejected with a brief explanation or moved to external double-blind peer review.

  • External reviewers are independent and not affiliated with the editorial board or authors.

For Book Reviews and Conversations

These are reviewed by the Editorial Board. External review may be requested in cases requiring subject-specific expertise.

For more information, please read the journal’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

Editorial Process and Communication

All research articles, notes, and review essays are first reviewed by the Editorial Board. Submissions may be desk-rejected with a brief explanation or advanced to external double-blind peer review. External reviewers are independent and are not affiliated with the editorial board or the authors.

Book reviews and conversations are reviewed by the Editorial Board. External review may be requested when subject-specific expertise is required. For further information, please consult the journal's Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.

Communication timeline

  • Confirmation: Upon receipt of your submission, you will receive a confirmation email.
  • Waiting period: Please allow sufficient time for the editorial and peer review process before following up.
  • Status inquiries: Do not send status inquiries earlier than six weeks after receiving your confirmation. After six weeks, you may email the editorial team with your manuscript title and any specific questions.
  • Outcome notification: You will be informed whether your submission results in acceptance, minor revisions, major revisions, a revise-and-resubmit decision, or rejection. If revisions are requested, please follow the specific resubmission instructions provided.

Submission Requirements

All submissions must be sent electronically to politikonjournal@iapss.org. Please include the following:

1. Cover Page (Word file)

  • Title of the manuscript
  • Abstract (max. 150 words; not required for book reviews)
  • 5–10 keywords
  • Full name(s) of author(s)
  • Institutional affiliation and country of each author (or “Independent researcher” and country)
  • Email address(es)
  • ORCID iD(s) as full links (for example, https://orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000)
  • Short bio (max. 150 words per author)
  • Funding statement and conflicts of interest 
  • Statement on generative AI use: tool and purpose 

2. Anonymized Manuscript (Word file)

  • Title

  • Abstract (not required for book reviews)

  • Keywords

  • Full text

  • References

  • Data availability statement, where applicable

  • Appendices (if applicable; long ones may be submitted as separate files)

Formatting Specifications

  • Font: Garamond

  • Main text: 12 pt, 1.5 spacing

  • Abstract: Max. 150 words, italic, 12 pt, 1.15 spacing

  • Keywords: 12 pt, 1.15 spacing

  • Main title: 16 pt, bold

  • Section headings: 14 pt, bold

  • Sub-section headings: 12 pt, bold italic

  • Footnotes: 10 pt, single spacing

  • Paragraphs: First-line indent 1.25 cm, no spacing between paragraphs

  • Margins: Top/bottom: 2.5 cm; Left/right: 3.0 cm

  • Quotes (3+ lines): Indented 1.25 cm, 11 pt

  • Tables/Charts: Numbered, one per page, with a source (e.g., "Source: Author.")

Style Guide

  • Use double quotation marks except for quotes within quotes.

  • Spell out abbreviations and acronyms on first mention (e.g., European Union (EU)).

  • Italicize non-English words and names; include accents and diacritics.

  • Italicize titles of books, journals, films, artworks, and long-form works.

  • Do not use italics for quotations, dialogue, or quoted material.

  • Spell out whole numbers one through one hundred.

  • Use numerals for other numbers unless starting a sentence.

  • Use symbols for %, $, €, and £.

  • Avoid contractions (e.g., “it is” instead of “it’s”).

  • Use commas as thousand separators (e.g., 10,000).

  • Dates: use Month Day, Year format (e.g., February 2, 2006).

  • Do not use: in litt., op. cit., idem., e.g., i.e., ibid.

Formatting Block Quotes

  • Use block quotes for quotations that are 40 words or longer.

  • Start block quotes on a new line, and indent the entire quote from the left margin.

  • Do not use quotation marks around block quotes.

  • Maintain the original punctuation and capitalization of the quoted material.

  • Place the citation or attribution after the final punctuation of the quote.

  • Do not italicize block quotes.

  • If the block quote contains multiple paragraphs, indent the first line of each paragraph.

References

Use the Chicago Manual of Style (author-date format), 18th Edition.
Examples:

  • Article: Baldrian, Sona. 2025. “Interweaving Story and Theory: Confronting Anti-Feminism and Anti-Genderism in the NGOized Women’s Movement in Armenia”. Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science 25 (1): 10-32. https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.12025.1.

  • Book Chapter: Lalancette, Mireille, and Manon Tremblay. 2019. "Media Framing of Lesbian and Gay Politicians." In Queering Representation, edited by Manon Tremblay, 102–123. Vancouver: UBC Press.

  • Book: Onuf, Nicholas. 2012. World of Our Making. London and New York: Routledge.

More examples can be found in the official Chicago Manual of Style. A Zotero citation style file formatted for IAPSS Politikon is available upon request — please contact the Editorial Team at politikonjournal@iapss.org.

Format-Free Submissions

You may submit your manuscript using any consistent and standard citation style commonly used in the humanities or social sciences. If your manuscript passes editorial review, you will be asked to revise it to conform with the Chicago Manual of Style (author-date format).

Note: Manuscripts with in-text citations are preferred over those with footnotes or endnotes.

This format-free policy aims to reduce barriers while maintaining high academic standards.

 

Research Articles

A research paper is a comprehensive and in-depth academic article. It contributes substantially to the existing body of knowledge within a specific subfield. It presents comprehensive research that has undergone rigorous analysis, making a significant impact on the understanding of a particular topic.

A research paper ranges from 5,000 to 8,000 words, excluding references and appendices. It requires a detailed and extensive discussion of the research question, a comprehensive review of relevant literature, a thorough explanation of the research methodology and data analysis techniques, and a comprehensive presentation of results. 

Research Notes

A research note is a short academic article, usually between 2,500 and 5,000 words.  It offers a concise and focused contribution to the scholarly literature, presenting new insights, findings, or methods. A research note is typically more narrow in scope compared to a research paper.

While it still follows a standardized format, a research note might provide less extensive details about the research design and methodology compared to a research paper. It is meant to quickly communicate a valuable insight, finding, or method to the research community. In addition to communicating findings, research notes can also introduce new concepts, albeit in a more compact manner compared to research papers. They often highlight novel ideas, emerging trends, or preliminary frameworks that offer fresh perspectives to the scholarly community. These conceptual contributions might not be fully developed theories but can lay the groundwork for further exploration. 

Review Essays

A review essay is a type of essay (between 1,500 and 3,000 words)  that combines a critical analysis of one or more books, with broader discussions and reflections on relevant themes, topics, or issues. In a review essay, the writer not only provides a detailed assessment of the works under review but also uses them as a starting point for exploring larger questions, debates, or cultural trends.

A review essay typically begins with an introduction that provides context for the works being reviewed and previews the main arguments or themes that the writer will explore in the essay. The body of the essay consists of a detailed analysis of the works themselves, including an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses, as well as any broader implications they may have.

For more details, please see our guide for writing a review essay.

Book Reviews

A book review is a critical analysis and evaluation of a book's content and merits. The purpose of a book review is to provide readers with an understanding of the book's subject matter, themes, and arguments, as well as the author's writing style and approach. A book review typically includes a summary of the book's main ideas, followed by an evaluation of its strengths and weaknesses.

A good book review:

  • is between 500 and 1000 words in length;
  • provides a balanced and thoughtful analysis of the book being reviewed;
  • provides an overview of the book's content, including a summary of the main ideas, themes, and arguments presented by the author;
  • includes an evaluation of the book's strengths and weaknesses, discussing the book's methodology, its contribution to the field, or any other relevant factors;
  • offers a critique of the book's arguments and ideas, and may include a discussion of any counterarguments or alternative perspectives that the author did not address.

For more details, please see our guide for writing a book review.

For inquiries or submissions related to book reviews, please contact Bogdan Ovcharuk, Book Reviews Section Editor, at politikon.bookeditor@iapss.org.

Conversations

The Conversations section provides a platform for diverse forms of academic engagement. This section is open to opinion essays, interviews, pedagogical discussions, film commentaries, and critical reflections on academic events within the realm of Political Science. It aims to expand the boundaries of Political Science to encompass creative interventions and interdisciplinary dialogue. 

Contributions to the Conversation section are subject to Editorial Board Evaluation only, unless the need for expertise in a specific subfield that is not present in the Editorial Board necessitates the commissioning of an external peer-review on a double-blind basis.

For inquiries or submissions to the Conversations Section, please contact Marianna Prysiazhnyuk,  Conversations Section Editor, at politikon.conversations@iapss.org.

Copyright Notice

By submitting to Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, authors agree to the following copyright terms:

By submitting to Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, authors agree to the following terms, which apply on publication:

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS), the journal’s publisher, the right of first publication.

All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). This licence allows others to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, provided that they give appropriate credit to the original author(s), link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made.

For more information, see the journal’s Open Access Policy, Archiving and Publishing License.

Privacy Statement

IAPSS Politikon respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you provide through our website and editorial email.

Information we collect

When you submit a manuscript, review a manuscript, apply to the reviewer database, or register on the website, we may collect your name, email address, institutional affiliation and country, ORCID iD, academic position, research interests, and a short biography.

How we use it

  • to manage the editorial and peer review process and communicate with you about it;
  • to publish accepted articles, which include authors' names, affiliations, countries, and ORCID iDs;
  • to register published articles with Crossref (DOIs) and supply article metadata to indexing services and archives;
  • to invite reviewers whose expertise matches submitted manuscripts.

Who we share it with

Personal information is shared only with those involved in handling your manuscript or review: editors, guest editors, and, for anonymized manuscripts, reviewers. Reviewer identities are not disclosed to authors. Manuscripts are screened with Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate), which processes the manuscript text. Published article metadata is shared with Crossref, indexing services, and preservation services. We do not sell personal information or use it for marketing, and we do not share it with other third parties without your consent, except where required by law.

Retention

Editorial records are kept for as long as needed to manage the journal and respond to post-publication questions such as corrections or ethics inquiries. Information published with an article remains part of the scholarly record.

Your rights

You may request access to the personal information we hold about you, and ask us to correct or delete it, subject to the needs of the scholarly record. Reviewers may ask to be removed from the reviewer database at any time.

Contact

For questions or requests about your personal information, email politikonjournal@iapss.org.

Updates

We may update this statement from time to time; changes will be posted on this page.

Last updated: October 15, 2026