POLITIES AND SOCIETIES

Instructions for Authors

Polities and Societies is an international, open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes theory-driven, empirically grounded, and critically oriented scholarship in the contemporary social sciences across diverse regional and disciplinary contexts.

The journal operates a double-blind peer review process. All submissions are initially evaluated by the editor(s) for relevance to the journal’s aims and scope and overall scholarly quality. Manuscripts that meet these criteria are sent for review to at least two independent experts. Final publication decisions are made by the editorial team based on reviewer reports and editorial judgment.

The journal accepts the following types of contributions:

  • Research Articles – theory-driven, empirically grounded, double-blind peer-reviewed contributions (8,000–10,000 words)
  • Research Notes – shorter, focused contributions presenting a single finding, methodological insight, or conceptual argument (4,000–6,000 words)
  • Review Essays – critical engagement with a cluster of recent books or a body of literature, offering an original interpretive argument (5,000–8,000 words)
  • Forum / Debate – invited responses to major articles or exchanges on pressing intellectual and policy debates (2,000–4,000 words)

Submissions must be written in English, must be original, and must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.

The journal is currently published annually, with plans to adjust publication frequency as the journal develops.

All manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the journal’s guidelines. Submissions that do not comply with these requirements, or that fall outside the scope of the journal, may be rejected without external review.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their work.

All correspondence related to manuscript submission, peer review, revision, and publication must be conducted through the journal’s online submission system (https://www.editorialpark.com/ps/).

WRITING INSTRUCTIONS

Submitted manuscripts should be prepared using Microsoft Word. All manuscripts, figures and images must be submitted electronically in MS Word format via online submission system (https://www.editorialpark.com/ps/).Authors should ensure that, apart from the title page, the manuscript contains no clues about the identity of the author or the institution where the research was conducted.

All articles should be arranged on the basis of the following sequence:

1. Title page

2. English abstract

3. The text of the article in English

4. References

5. Table(s)

6. Figure(s) and illustration(s)

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

Title Page

The title of the article should not exceed 100 printed characters. The title should be written in English, and all authors' names, affiliations, and departments should be clearly stated.

Acknowledgments: All contributors who do not qualify as authors should be listed in the acknowledgments section.

Funding (if any).

Abstracts

Abstracts should be provided on separate pages and written in English. They should not exceed 250 words. At the bottom of each abstract page, authors should list English keywords, which should not be longer than 5 words each. Abbreviations should not be included in the abstract.

Text

The text must be written in English and include the following sections: Introduction, Theoretical Framework, Methods, Findings, and Discussion. Section titles (with the exception of the Introduction) may be adapted to reflect the specific focus, empirical setting, and contribution of the article. In line with journals such as International Studies Quarterly, authors are encouraged to use concise, descriptive, and engaging headings that capture the substance of each section. For example, section titles might take forms such as “Understanding Institutional Change in Post-Soviet States” (theoretical framework), “Research Setting and Approach” (methods), “How Governance Practices Evolve Over Time” (findings), or “Implications for Policy and Practice” (discussion).

Each section should fulfill a distinct purpose:
• Introduction: Clearly articulate the phenomenon of interest, its relevance, and the contribution of the paper to scholarly knowledge and/or policy and practice.
• Theoretical Framework: Situate the study within relevant literature, develop the conceptual grounding, and clarify the paper’s perspective or guiding arguments.
• Methods: Describe the research design, empirical context, data sources, and analytical approach with sufficient transparency and rigor.
• Findings: Present the core insights of the study in a clear and structured manner, grounded in the data or analysis.
• Discussion: Interpret the findings, highlight their implications for theory and practice, and, where appropriate, outline broader societal or policy relevance.

Authors are encouraged to write in an accessible and engaging style, making their arguments relevant to both academic and practitioner audiences.

References
All references must follow the APA (American Psychological Association) style, 7th edition. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all citations are accurate, complete, and consistent.

• Include only works cited in the text.
• List references in alphabetical order by the surname of the first author.
• Provide DOIs for all sources where available, formatted as clickable links (e.g., https://doi.org/xxxxx).
• Ensure consistency between in-text citations and the reference list.

In-text citations should follow APA format:
• One author: (Huntington, 1968)
• Two authors: (Fearon & Laitin, 2003)
• Three or more authors: (Acemoglu et al., 2001)

Examples of common reference types:

Journal article:
Fearon, J. D., & Laitin, D. D. (2003). Ethnicity, insurgency, and civil war. American Political Science Review, 97(1), 75–90. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055403000534

Book:

Huntington, S. P. (1968). Political order in changing societies. Yale University Press.

Book chapter:

Skocpol, T. (1985). Bringing the state back in: Strategies of analysis in current research. In Bringing the state back in (pp. 3–37). Cambridge University Press.

Tables and Figures
Well-designed tables and figures are essential for communicating complex ideas clearly, helping readers grasp key insights quickly and effectively.

• Each table and figure must be clearly referenced in the text and numbered consecutively (Table 1, Table 2; Figure 1, Figure 2).
• Provide a concise and descriptive title for each table or figure.
• Tables should be self-contained and understandable without requiring extensive reference to the main text.
• Avoid duplication of information between tables, figures, and the text.
• Use tables primarily for structured data and comparisons; use figures for conceptual models, frameworks, or visual representations.
• Ensure that all symbols, abbreviations, and units are clearly defined in a note below the table or figure.
• Authors should ensure that tables and figures are of high quality and suitable for publication.

For qualitative and conceptual papers, authors are encouraged to include summary tables (e.g., case overviews, data structures) or figures (e.g., conceptual frameworks) where appropriate to improve readability and accessibility.

Figures and illustrations should be clearly labeled and numbered. They should have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi in JPEG format to ensure clarity. Figures must be submitted electronically during the manuscript submission process. If authors wish to include colored illustrations, they may do so at an additional cost. Otherwise, all illustrations will appear in black and white.

REVISION AFTER REFEREE REPORT

Authors should point-by-point reply to the items that require revision, as per the referee's report, in the designated box in the online submission page and should upload any additional files. They should also make the necessary changes to the article, highlight them, and resubmit it online.

FINAL CHECKING

1. All pages have been numbered starting from the first page of the document.

2. The copyright form has been correctly filled out and signed.

3. The abstract should not exceed 250 words.

4. The title is written in English.

5. The references are in accordance with the instructions.

6. All abbreviations used in tables, figures, and illustrations have been defined.