World Affairs
Founded in 1837, World Affairs is a quarterly journal showcasing provocative and original research in international and current affairs. For decades it has been renowned for publishing articles on policy as it is practiced—pieces that excite controversy and encourage debate. As of 2016, World Affairs’ longstanding tradition as a leader of political debate continues in its new and more academic incarnation. Articles should adhere to the high standards of an academic journal in the depth and rigor of their research. They should nevertheless actively bridge the academic and public spheres and promote stimulating conversation between them. To that end, its timely articles must be accessible to a generalist audience and framed with that audience in mind. Its jargon-free studies should also make practical recommendations to an audience of policy makers.
World Affairs welcomes submissions in politics, policy and current affairs from an international perspective. Areas include, but are not restricted to: economics, commerce/trade, public administration, diplomacy, public opinion, current affairs, defense, security, foreign policy, international relations/affairs, international law, regionalization, transnational social and political issues, international political economy, the global world order, international regulation, environmental issues, immigration and development. We encourage topicality and actively invite interdisciplinarity. No methodology is preferred, though the underpinning framework of the author’s argument should be immediately explicit to readers.
World Affairs will consider articles of 9,000 words or less, referenced in Chicago Style. Articles undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review with final publication subject to the approval of the Editor.
| Dr. Emma R. Norman | Universidad Iberoamericana-Ciudad de México, Mexico |
| Davin J. Baxter | University of the Americas, Puebla, Mexico |
| Andrew J. Bacevich | Boston University, USA |
| Daniel Béland | McGill University, Canada |
| Alon Ben-Meir | Institute for Humanitarian Conflict Resolution and New York University (retired), USA |
| Peter Collier | |
| Helene Cooper | |
| Jeffrey Gedmin | School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, USA |
| Tom Gjelten | National Public Radio, USA |
| Roya Hakakian | Whitney Humanities Center, Yale University, USA |
| Mark H. Hambley | Ambassador (retired), Next Century Foundation, USA |
| Robert Kagan | Brookings Institution, Washington, DC, USA |
| John C. Morris | Auburn University, USA |
| Joshua Muravchik | School for Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, USA |
| Zim Nwokora | Deakin University, Australia |
| P.J. O’Rourke | |
| Riccardo Pelizzo | Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan |
| Jozef Raadschelders | The Ohio State University, USA |
| Ronald Steel | University of Southern California, USA |
| Andreas Umland | National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, Sweden |
| Leon Wieseltier | |
| Jay Winik |
Please read the guidelines below then visit the World Affairs submission site to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to the guidelines below may be returned.
There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.
As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in World Affairs and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.
What Do We Publish?
Aims & Scope
Before submitting your manuscript to World Affairs, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope to determine whether your manuscript is suitable for consideration in the journal.
Article Types
World Affairs considers the following article types for publication: Original Research Articles, Letters to the Editor, Commentary Papers, Book Reviews/Review Essays, Website Reviews. Details on each are provided below.
Original Research Articles:
World Affairs considers original research articles of 10,000 words or less—including references list, keywords, and abstract—referenced in Chicago (author-date) Style. Abstracts should not exceed 200 words. Articles should adhere to the high standards of an academic journal in the depth and rigor of their research. They should nevertheless actively bridge the academic and public spheres and promote stimulating conversation between them. To that end, articles must be timely and accessible to a generalist audience and framed with that audience in mind. Good articles should be jargon-free as well as making practical recommendations to an audience of policy makers. Articles published in World Affairs undergo a rigorous double-blind peer review with final publication subject to the approval of the Editor. Strictly, all direct quotations in any submission must be enclosed in double quotation marks, followed by the correct citation and page number of the quotation.
Examples: Policy Gridlock versus Policy Shift in Gun Politics: A Comparative Veto Player Analysis of Gun Control Policies in the United States and Canada https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018814356
The Dragon in Turtle Bay: The Impact of China’s Rise in the UN on the United States and Global Governance https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018806981
Letter to the Editor:
Letters to the Editor are persuasive or otherwise engaging short pieces on current affairs issues that do not exceed 1,500 words in total. These “considered opinion” pieces should be written to stimulate future responses or to initiate longer, more detailed discussions between the journal’s readers on contentious or polarized issues. Opinions must be supported by the relevant facts and statistics that are appropriately supported with citation information in Chicago (author-date) Style.
Example: Whose Swamp Is It? https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018816402
Commentary Papers:
Commentaries of up to 2,500 words involve an in-depth discussion of, for example, a current situation, policy exercise or proposal, or conference topic, written from the perspective of a practitioner, participant, researcher, graduate student, or other commentator. They may be written to draw attention to a worthy or topical issue, debate, policy, concept, or proposal that has received insufficient academic or media attention, has received only local attention but applies more widely, or is otherwise valuable and relevant to World Affairs readers. Alternatively, a good commentary may offer a new, unique, or updated perspective on a current or recent issue or policy.
Examples: Thoughts on Constitutions: Occasioned by a Congress on Iceland’s Democracy https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018775771
Global Health Security is Global Security: The Lessons of Clade X https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018811495
Book Reviews/Review Essays:
Book reviews that discuss a single book that is relevant to World Affairs readers are considered by the Editor provided they do not exceed 1,000 words in total, including titles and publication details of the book, author name and institution, and references list. Book review essays that discuss, compare, and evaluate two or more books that are relevant to World Affairs readers are particularly welcomed, provided they do not exceed 3,000 words, including titles and publication information of each book, author name and institution, and references list. Books under review should be recently published and/or older publications the review shows to have continued relevance to current affairs topics, particularly if they have an international reach. They should offer a brief synopsis drawing readers’ attention to important central themes, arguments, or chapters, before highlighting strengths and weaknesses from different perspectives. (E.g., what kinds of audiences would enjoy it or find it useful? How would it help teachers, students, or policy practitioners and in what areas? What is its readability and engagement level? How far does it contribute something new and useful to the academic literature? What questions does it suggest or leave open to future research?). The main aim is to inform readers of what the book(s) attempts to achieve, how far it achieves it, how it can be a useful and/or engaging resource for divergent audiences and where its value-added lies. Book reviews and review essays should be properly and consistently referenced in Chicago (author-date) Style. All direct quotations should be enclosed in double quotation marks and require the page number in parenthesis immediately afterward.
Examples: Apocalypse Now? https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820016673781
The Great… What? https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820017723515
Website Reviews:
Reviews of one or more related websites that are shown to be of interest to World Affairs readers should be between 500-1,000 words and properly and consistently referenced in Chicago (author-date) Style. Similar to a book review, a good website review will outline the website’s main political/policy functions, audience/users, and “usability” of its platform, and provide an engaging assessment of its appeal and usefulness to different audiences.
Example: While the following example is actually a much longer article commissioned by the Editor, it began life as a series of excellent website reviews: E-Governance and E-Participation via Online Citizen Budgets and Electronic Lobbying: Promises and Challenges https://doi.org/10.1177/0043820018771137
| All the above types of articles should be properly and consistently referenced in Chicago (author-date) Style – please click on this link for easy-to-follow details and examples. There are no limits on the number of references permitted, but please note that reference lists should ONLY contain references to works actually cited in the text. Strictly, all direct quotations in any submission must be enclosed in double quotation marks, followed immediately by the correct citation and page number of the quotation. Judicious paraphrasing of the arguments or ideas of another must be phrased in the submitter’s own words and must be accompanied by the corresponding parenthetical citation. |
Writing Your Paper
The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.
Make Your Article Discoverable
When writing your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords, and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.
Editorial Policies
Peer Review Policy
World Affairs employs a rigorous double-blind peer review process whereby both reviewers’ and authors’ anonymity is preserved to ensure objectively that the journal publishes only the best quality research. Submitting authors can usually expect the Editor to make an initial decision on the appropriateness of a submitted manuscript within 14 days from submission in Manuscript Central. Manuscripts not fitting the journal’s aims and scope, or that do not display an appropriate level of originality, methodological rigor, structural coherence, competence in their field, or linguistic or grammatical clarity may be rejected during this time.
If the Editor elects to send out your manuscript for peer review, at least two hand-picked experts in the area of your paper will be required to return a detailed anonymous peer review on its merits and deficiencies before the Editor makes a decision. The journal’s reviewer database comprises over 2,000 academics and policy practitioners from institutions worldwide and is constantly being updated. Reviewers are asked to comment on the academic quality and wider appeal of the manuscript from their specialist perspective and to recommend a decision (reject; minor/regular/major revise and resubmit; or accept with minor corrections) on the paper’s readability, relevance, coverage, originality, clarity, and competence. The Editor’s decision is final at any stage of the submission and peer review/revision process. If a revise and resubmit decision is made and the author resubmits in Manuscript Central on time with an appropriately revised paper, the resubmitted paper will undergo a second round of reviews to ensure that the revisions made have been adequate and the paper is as good as it can be. After the secondary review panel has returned their reports, the Editor will make a final decision on a revised paper, which may include requirements for further corrections before an offer to publish is extended. Publication is conditional on the author meeting the Sage Licensing Agreement requirements and on their prompt and full response to any queries and proofing duties during production.
While it is difficult to predict with any accuracy how long the review process will take for each submission—much depends on the time of year and the reviewers’ workloads—the journal endeavors to return an initial decision to authors within 90 days of submission. Revised manuscripts should be resubmitted between one and three months after an invitation to revise and resubmit has been extended, depending on the nature of the revisions required. Authors will receive automated reminders to ensure they are able to meet resubmission deadlines. Extensions can be given only under special circumstances.
If you have not submitted a manuscript to World Affairs, but wish to be considered as a reviewer for the journal, please contact the Editor at worldaffairs@ipsonet.org with a brief description of your research areas, any recent publications, and current institutional affiliation(s).
Authorship
All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.
Please note that AI chatbots, for example ChatGPT, should not be listed as authors. For more information see the policy on Use of ChatGPT and generative AI tools.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOUR NAME OR IDENTIFYING DETAILS DOES NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE IN THE SUBMISSION OR RESUBMISSION (INCLUDING IN ANY RESPONSE TO REVIEWERS DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE OF RESUBMISSION). Instead, supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
World Affairs encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
Publishing Policies
Publication Ethics
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.
Plagiarism
World Affairs and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism, or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
Prior Publication
If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.
Open Access and Author Archiving
World Affairs offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.
Preparing your Manuscript for Submission
Formatting
The preferred format for your manuscript is Word. LaTeX files are also accepted. Word and (La)Tex templates are available on the Manuscript Submission Guidelines page of our Author Gateway.
Artwork, Figures, and Other Graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures, and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines. It is critical that any graphs, figures, and tables are submitted in an editable format.
Supplementary Material
This journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g., datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplementary files.
Reference Style
World Affairs adheres to Chicago reference style. Please see the Chicago Manual of Style to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.
English Language Editing Services
Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.
Submitting your Manuscript
World Affairs is hosted on Sage Track, a web-based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/waf to login and submit your article online.
IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created. For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.
ORCID
As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities ensuring that their work is recognized.
We encourage all authors to add their ORCIDs to their Sage Track accounts and include their ORCIDs as part of the submission process. If you don’t already have one you can create one here.
Permissions
Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere before you submit to World Affairs. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.
Further Information
Any correspondence, queries, or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the World Affairs editorial office at worldaffairs@ipsonet.org.