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 text follows the guidelines specified in the Author Guidelines.
  • The submission is made via e-mail to politikonjournal@iapss.org and includes at least two files (COVER PAGE and 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 submission has not been previously published, nor is it under consideration by another journal.
  • The author(s) of the manuscript do not have another manuscript under evaluation in this journal at the time of submission.

Author Guidelines

Please disregard the login/register button above. All submissions need to be sent via e-mail politikonjournal@iapss.org and no registration is needed.

instructions below are designed to ensure that we have all the necessary materials to facilitate a seamless progression of your paper through the peer review, production, and publication processes. Please read and follow these instructions to the best of your ability, as this will ensure that your paper meets the journal's specific requirements.


We welcome contributions in the following formats: 

  • Full-length research articles
  • Research notes
  • Review essays
  • Book reviews

Research note or research paper? Making the right choice not only aligns with your content but also enhances your chances of successful publication.

BOOK REVIEWS: If you are interested in reviewing a newly published book for IAPSS Politikon, please contact the Book Review Section Editor at politikon.bookeditor@iapss.org. For more details, please read our guide for writing a book review.

COVERSATIONS: 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. 

Editorial Process: Communication and Status Updates

The Editorial Board will inform authors about the results of each evaluation. All submitted research papers, research notes, and review essays go through an initial Editorial Board Evaluation. This may lead to either a desk-rejection (which is communicated to the authors with a brief explanation) or acceptance of the submission to the main, double-blind external peer review process. This peer review is done by reviewers who are not connected to the Editorial Board members or the authors. The results of the peer review are then shared with the authors.

Contributions for the Conversations section and book reviews are only evaluated by the Editorial Board, unless there is a need for expertise in a specific subfield that the Editorial Board does not have. In such cases, an external peer-review on a double-blind basis may be requested.

We understand that authors are eager to receive updates on the status of their submissions. To make the review process efficient and maintain clear communication, we kindly ask authors to follow these guidelines regarding status updates:

1. Initial submission confirmation: When we receive your manuscript, we will send you a confirmation email to let you know that your work is in our system for review.

2. Waiting period: Please give our editorial team and peer reviewers enough time to carefully evaluate your submission. We aim to provide timely and helpful feedback, but we ask for your patience during this process.

3. Reminder for status updates: We appreciate your enthusiasm for timely updates. However, please do not send a reminder about the status of your submission earlier than six weeks after your initial confirmation email.

4. Inquiries after six weeks: If you haven't received any communication about the status of your submission after six weeks, you can contact our editorial office for a brief update. Please include your manuscript's title and any specific concerns you may have in your inquiry.

5. Status notification: Once your manuscript has gone through editorial evaluation and peer-review, you will receive an email notification about the status of your submission. This notification will include one of the following outcomes:

  • Acceptance: Congratulations! Your manuscript has been accepted for publication.
  • Minor Revisions: Your manuscript needs minor changes, and you will receive detailed feedback to help you address the comments.
  • Major Revisions: Significant changes are needed before your manuscript can be reconsidered for publication.
  • Rejection: Unfortunately, your manuscript does not fit with our journal's scope or quality standards.

For submitting revisions, please check our recommendations.

General Requirements for Submissions 

Submissions are to be sent exclusively in electronic format to politikonjournal@iapss.org. 

You must submit at least two MS Word files:

  • The cover page contains the title, name of the author(s) and their short presentation in a narrative form (max. 150 words for each author and including e-mail contacts of all co-authors), abstract (except for book reviews), and from five to ten keywords.
  • The anonymized manuscript contains the paper title, abstract (except for book reviews), keywords, the main body of the paper, references, and appendices (if applicable, longer appendices can be sent as separate files).

Font: Garamond 12, spacing 1.5

Abstract: Max. 150 words, Garamond 12, spacing 1.15, italic

Keywords: Five to ten, Garamond 12, spacing 1.15

Main Title (Heading): Garamond 16, bold

Subtitles (Section Headings): Garamond 14, bold

Sub-Subtitles (Sub-section Headings) (if applicable): Garamond 12, bold, italic

Footnotes: Garamond 10, spacing 1.0

Presentation: Garamond 12, spacing 1.15, italic

Borders: top and bottom 2,5 cm, left and right 3,00cm (default)

Paragraphs: first-line indentation 1.25 cm, no spaces between paragraphs

Quotes: sectioned off in more than two sentences; Garamond 11, indented 1.25 cm

Tables and Charts are continuously numbered, each fits on one page at maximum, and all are sourced (if original, use "Source: Author.")

Please use DOUBLE QUOTATION MARKS everywhere, except quotations within quotations. 

Required Formatting of References

Reference formatting should adhere to the Chicago Manual of Style (author-date variant), 14th Edition. Most major citation managers (such as Zotero) include this referencing style among their options. 

Examples:

  • ARTICLE: Kneip, Katharina. 2016. "Female jihad–women in the ISIS." Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science, vol. 29: 88-106, https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.29.5.
  • BOOK CHAPTER: Lalancette, Mireille, and Manon Tremblay. 2019. Media Framing of Lesbian and Gay Politicians. In Queering Representation: LGBTQ People and Electoral Politics in Canada, edited by Manon Tremblay, 102–23. Vancouver: UBC Press.
  • BOOK: Onuf, Nicholas. 2012. World of our making: Rules and rule in social theory and international relations. London and New York: Routledge.

For more examples see Chicago Manual of Style.

IAPSS Politikon now offers a "format-free" submission process for manuscripts.

This means that as long as the referencing system used in your manuscript is consistent and clear throughout, you can submit your work using any of the major referencing styles commonly used in the social sciences and humanities.

If your submission is not desk-rejected or rejected by peer reviewers, you will then be asked to adjust your manuscript to follow the Chicago Manual of Style. However, the Editorial Board prefers to receive initial manuscripts and references written according to the Chicago Manual of Style (author-date variant).

If your text is not written according to the Chicago Manual of Style, we highly recommend selecting a referencing format that uses in-text citations rather than referencing in footnotes or endnotes.

This new format-free submission process is designed to make submitting your work to IAPSS Politikon easier and more accessible, while still maintaining the high standards of academic writing and referencing.

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

Last updated: 11 May 2024

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.

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.

Copyright Notice

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

All articles published in Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. This license allows others to share and adapt the work for non-commercial purposes, providing appropriate attribution to the original author(s) and indicating if changes were made.

Authors retain copyright of their work and grant Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science the right of first publication.

For more information please refer to the journal's Open Access Policy, Archiving and Publishing License policies.

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