Relevant Fields: International Relations, Politics, Society, Economics, Media, Education.
1. Don’t tell us what we already know.
We want our readers/conference attendees to have their views challenged, or to be introduced to new ways to look at old or existing problems. Submitters are encouraged to take a critical view of dominant ideas from the fields with which you engage.
2. Make your work relevant.
As Cicero wrote, “Not for ourselves alone are we born”. While grounding your work on sound empirical, theoretical or logical tenets, aim also to write for the betterment of society, and for the improvement of humanity as a whole. Critical analysis and strong arguments are welcome; navel-gazing or research-by-numbers can be published elsewhere. Aspire to influence.
3. Prioritize realism over utopianism.
As Chekov wrote, “Man will become better when you show him what he is like.” Whilst not discounting emotion and intuition as vital sources of knowledge, we favor rationalism over romanticism. In this way, we believe in the existence of objective truths that underpin and form the reality we live in.
4. Don’t obfuscate your message with academic jargon.
When a difficult, uncommon word is the one best suited to express a complex thought, by all means make use of it. In general, explain yourself in a clear-cut and accessible fashion, paying close attention to definitions of the key concepts underlying your work.
5. Don’t become a slave to format.
As long as your work is coherent, well structured, and follows some form of standard citation for references, we do not care about the specific styles used. In terms of length, write as much as needed to convey your idea. Between 4,000 and 12,000 words should be sufficient range for most, but we are flexible. Failure to dot your I’s and cross your T’s will be corrected in review but it should never be a primary source of concern. Even great minds are not necessarily tidy ones and it would be regrettable if worthy ideas were lost to a paper-shuffler’s pedantry.
6. Venture outside of your formal area of expertise
Applicants are asked to avoid simply repackaging preexisting research or other material in order to make it through the submission process, but instead to take an exploratory stroll outside (or at least pushing) the bounds of their usual academic territory—a healthy and invigorating exercise that tends to be discouraged elsewhere.
7. No sentimentality
Measured outrage directed at transgressions of truth is tolerated, but remember that we are interested in the strength of your ideas, not the righteousness of your character. That is to say, we will not reject articles because they have an emotional element, but be careful that this element does not weaken any core arguments.