CSP invites Themed Issue proposals

CSP normally publishes one themed issue per year/volume on a topic which contributes to the journal’s overall remit (see aims and scope here). We welcome proposals on any topic relevant to the journal's aims and from countries / regions that are rarely included in social policy debates and journals.

The annual deadline for proposals is 28th June.

Themed issues can consist of ‘Articles’ which are normally 6000 to 8000 words long and, occasionally, ‘Commentaries’ which are 3000 - 4000 words. Prospective themed issue editors should take these limits into account when planning the shape and content of a proposed themed issue. A themed issue of the journal typically consists of 6 – 8 articles including an introduction, but a proposal may be less than this, in which case it is likely to be published as a themed ‘section’.  Themed issue articles are normally expected to be published together online prior to hard copy publication.

Themed issue editors should note that even when approval for a proposed theme is given, individual articles will be refereed in the normal way and no guarantee can be given that any or all of the articles will eventually be published.  Editors should not author /co-author multiple papers in a themed issue. Editors must indicate whether any of the articles have already been ‘pre-published’ elsewhere. CSP is prepared to consider pre-published articles but is likely to require substantial changes to versions which have already been publicly available. 

CSP welcomes the contribution made to the journal by external editors of themed issues or sections. Themed issue editors will be named as such in the journal, recognising this as an important role.  

Proposals should be submitted in a Word document by email to the Editorial Coordinator, Lizzie Ward at articlescsp@gmail.com - it should include: 

1. An indicative title and name(s) of proposed editor(s), but not the names of authors in order to maintain anonymity.  

2. A short statement as to how the proposed themed issue relates to the aims and objectives of CSP.  

3. Abstracts and word lengths for the proposed articles including for an editorial introduction if appropriate.  

4. Information on the context in which the articles originate (e.g. seminar series, conference papers, etc.) and an indication of whether any have already been pre-published.  

Proposals are reviewed by the whole Editorial Collective and decisions are normally made at summer (June/July) Board meetings or, occasionally, at other EC meetings following an additional call. The CSP convenor will communicate decisions to prospective editor(s). All successful proposals are allocated to a member of the Editorial Collective to act as editorial liaison and convenor of referees. All articles in a themed issue will be subject to the same three referee review process as other articles. Further details on the aims and objectives of the journal, requirements for articles and the refereeing process can be found here and the inside back cover of the hard copy. 

If the themed issue proposal is accepted, the key responsibilities of Themed Issue Editors are as follows: 

1. To agree the parameters of the proposal and communicate any changes, as requested by the editorial collective, with all contributors.

2. To ensure the overall theoretical coherence and the consistency of the theme and the articles.

3. To read first drafts of all articles prior to submission and ensure that they comply with the basic requirements of CSP papers as set out in the CSP Journal Guidelines.

4. To ensure that all articles are submitted at the same time and by the agreed date (unless agreed otherwise with the CSP Convenor).

5. Once articles have been reviewed by members of the CSP collective, to share feedback with individual authors: this includes both feedback on individual articles and (where relevant) any collective feedback on issues which apply collectively to all articles.

6. Where authors are invited to rewrite and resubmit, to support them with the rewrite and ensure that all referees’ comments are responded to appropriately.

7. To write an introduction which does not simply summarise the articles which will follow, but provides a cogent, theoretically insightful and policy-orientated overview of the issues which the themed edition/section addresses.

Please note, that where editors of themed editions/sections have not ensured that all first drafts are compliant with the basic requirements of CSP papers, the Editorial Collective may decide to reject the themed issue in its entirety. Where re-submitted articles have not been checked for coherence, consistency and response to reviewers’ feedback, they may be returned to the editor for further work before refereeing.