European Journal of Political Theory
The European Journal of Political Theory provides a high profile research forum. Broad in scope and international in readership, the Journal is named after its geographical location, but is committed to advancing original debates in political theory in the widest possible sense--geographical, historical, and ideological. The Journal publishes contributions in analytic political philosophy, political theory, comparative political thought, and the history of ideas of any tradition. Work that challenges orthodoxies and disrupts entrenched debates is particularly encouraged. All research articles are subject to triple-blind peer-review by internationally renowned scholars in order to ensure the highest standards of quality and impartiality.
"The European Journal of Political Theory has established itself as an excellent journal in a remarkably short time." Stephen K White, University of Virginia, USA
"For five years The European Journal of Political Theory has offered readers fresh insights into and new perspectives on political-theoretical issues. As an American reader I am always especially eager to learn what my European colleagues are thinking and arguing about. May the EJPT flourish for many years to come." Terence Ball, Arizona State University, USA
"European political theory requires a forum through which to advance its special concerns and the EJPT fills this significant gap. The great attraction of the EJPT lies in its focus on Europe as an intellectual community and in the dialogue it will promote between continental and Anglophone scholars" Michael Freeden, University of Nottingham, UK
European Journal of Political Theory is available on SAGE Journals Online.
The European Journal of Political Theory provides a high profile research forum. Broad in scope and international in readership, the Journal is named after its geographical location, but is committed to advancing original debates in political theory in the widest possible sense--geographical, historical, and ideological. The Journal publishes contributions in analytic political philosophy, political theory, comparative political thought, and the history of ideas of any tradition. Work that challenges orthodoxies and disrupts entrenched debates is particularly encouraged. All research articles are subject to triple-blind peer-review by internationally renowned scholars in order to ensure the highest standards of quality and impartiality.
| Robin Douglass | King's College London, UK |
| Enzo Rossi | University of Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Talita Ferrantelli | London School of Economics, UK |
| Lior Erez | University of Oxford, UK |
| Duncan Bell | University of Cambridge, UK |
| Chris Brooke | University of Cambridge, UK |
| Ian Carter | Università di Pavia, Italy |
| Leigh Jenco | London School of Economics and Political Science, UK |
| Cécile Laborde | University of Oxford, UK |
| Justine Lacroix | Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium |
| Robert Lamb | University of Exeter, UK |
| Karuna Mantena | Yale University, USA |
| Andrew Sabl | University of Toronto, Canada |
| Matt Sleat | University of Sheffield, UK |
| Catherine Audard | London School of Economics and Political Science, UK |
| Ronald Beiner | University of Toronto, Canada |
| Richard Bellamy | University College London, UK |
| Hans Blom | Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands |
| Simon Caney | University of Oxford, UK |
| Dario Castiglione | University of Exeter, UK |
| Jiwei Ci | Hong Kong University, Hong Kong |
| Janet Coleman | London School of Economics and Political Science, UK |
| Catherine Colliot-Thilhne | Université de Rennes 1, France |
| Diana Coole | Birkbeck College, London, UK |
| Aurelian Craiutu | Indiana University, USA |
| Peter Ditmanson | Hunan University, China |
| Rainer Forst | Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany |
| Michael Freeden | University of Oxford, UK |
| Jeffrey Friedman | University of California, Berkeley, USA |
| Michael Th. Greven | University of Hamburg, Germany |
| Amy Gutmann | University of Pennsylvania, USA |
| Jurgen Habermas | University of Frankfurt, Germany |
| Bruce Haddock | Cardiff University, UK |
| Sudhir Hazareesingh | University of Oxford, UK |
| Martin van Hees | VU University Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Otfried Höffe | University of Tübingen, Germany |
| Etienne Hofmann | Universitë de Lausanne, Switzerland |
| Iseult Honohan | University College Dublin, Ireland |
| John Horton | University of Keele, UK |
| Matti Hyvarinen | University of Helsinki, Finland |
| Lucien Jaume | CNRS/Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, Paris, France |
| Jeremy Jennings | Kings College London, UK |
| Peter Jones | University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK |
| Charles Larmore | Brown University, USA |
| Sandra Leonie Field | Yale-NUS College, Singapore |
| Annabelle Lever | University of Geneva, Switzerland |
| Michael Levin | Goldsmiths, University of London, UK |
| Mark Lilla | Columbia University, USA |
| Steven Lukes | New York University, USA |
| Jan-Werner Mueller | Princeton University, USA |
| Terry Nardin | Yale-NUS College, Singapore |
| Richard North | University of Birmingham , UK |
| Martin Odei Ajei | University of Ghana, Ghana |
| Fania Oz-Salzberger | University of Haifa, Israel |
| Anthony R. D. Pagden | University of California, USA |
| Philippe van Parijs | Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium |
| Melvin Richter | City University of New York, USA |
| Rahul Sagar | New York University Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |
| William Scheuerman | University of Indiana, USA |
| Charles Taylor | McGill University, Canada |
| Richard Vernon | University of Western Ontario, Canada |
| Dana Villa | University of Notre Dame, USA |
| K. Steven Vincent | North Carolina State University, USA |
| Stephen K White | University of Virginia, USA |
| Bernard Yack | Brandeis University, USA |
| Ricard Zapata-Barrero | Universidad Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain |
Manuscript Submission Guidelines: European Journal of Political Theory
Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ejpt to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.
Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of European Journal of Political Theory will be reviewed.
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, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that the journal may accept submissions of papers that have been posted on pre-print servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the journal's author archiving policy.
If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.
- What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper - Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
2.6 Data - Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving - Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Formatting
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
4.3 Supplemental material
4.4 Reference style
4.5 English language editing services - Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
5.3 Permissions - On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 Online First publication
6.3 Access to your published article
6.4 Promoting your article - Further information
Before submitting your manuscript to European Journal of Political Theory, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.
Committed to advancing original debates in political theory in the widest possible sense--geographical, historical, and ideological. We welcome contributions in analytic political philosophy, political theory, comparative political thought, and the history of ideas of any tradition.
Papers submitted should be between 8,000 - 11,000 words (including all endnotes and bibliography). We encourage authors to write concisely: the upper boundary should be regarded as a limit, not a target. All else being equal, shorter papers will be preferred. First submissions above 11,000 words will not be considered. At the editors’ discretion, revised submissions may be offered an additional word allowance, where necessary to address the referees’ comments.
Review Articles and Commentaries
As well as pieces of original research, the European Journal of Political Theory also publishes reviews and commentaries of up to around 4,000 words. These pieces may be reviews of a single work, of a number of recent contributions to a debate, or indeed a survey of a debate or theme itself. The main aim of having such pieces is to offer readers an opportunity to understand the significance of developments in areas of the discipline of which they might otherwise be unaware. As such, the typical mode of engagement with material covered by reviews will be one which tries, through constructive criticism, to draw out its broader relevance.
Please contact Lior Erez, University of Haifa, at ejptreviews@sagepub.co.uk
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.
1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online
In accordance with general practice, the European Journal of Political Theory will only consider submissions that are not currently under review with another journal.
The European Journal of Political Theory is one of few journals to operate triple anonymize review for research articles. This is the strictest possible level of anonymous peer review: the author's name is withheld from the assigned editor as well as from the reviewers, and vice versa, until the review and decision-making processes are complete. His or her details will only become known to the editors after the author has received the final decision email. To ensure the integrity of the journal's triple-anonymize review procedures, please do not contact the editors directly either prior to the submission of a paper or at any point during the review process. All queries should be directed to the editorial assistant at ejptasst@sagepub.co.uk. Failure to comply with the triple-anonymize policy will normally result in the termination of the review process.
The reviewer may at their own discretion opt to reveal their name to the author in their review but our standard policy practice is for it to remain concealed. To avoid wasting time for both authors and reviewers, editors will blindly desk-reject some submissions. This will typically take no more than a week. Papers which are sent out to review will be sent to at least two reviewers. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, and an editorial decision is generally reached within six to eight weeks from submission. 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.
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.
2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:
• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.
Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.
European Journal of Political Theory requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading. Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
European Journal of Political Theory encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway
Sage acknowledges the importance of research data availability as an integral part of the research and verification process for academic journal articles.
European Journal of Political Theory requests all authors submitting any primary data used in their research articles [“alongside their article submissions” or “if the articles are accepted”] to be published in the online version of the journal, or provide detailed information in their articles on how the data can be obtained. This information should include links to third-party data repositories or detailed contact information for third-party data sources. Data available only on an author-maintained website will need to be loaded onto either the journal’s platform or a third-party platform to ensure continuing accessibility.
Examples of data types include but are not limited to statistical data files, replication code, text files, audio files, images, videos, appendices, and additional charts and graphs necessary to understand the original research. The editor(s) can also grant exceptions for data that cannot legally or ethically be released. All data submitted should comply with Institutional or Ethical Review Board requirements and applicable government regulations. For further information, please contact the editorial office at ejpteditor@sagepub.co.uk.
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
3.1.1 Plagiarism
European Journal of Political Theory 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.
3.1.2 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.
3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway
3.3 Open access and author archiving
European Journal of Political Theory 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.
4. Preparing your manuscript for submission
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.
4.2 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
Figures supplied in colour will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.
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
European Journal of Political Theory adheres to the Sage Harvard reference style. View the Sage Harvard guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.
If you use EndNote to manage references, you can download the Sage Harvard EndNote output file.
4.5 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.
European Journal of Political Theory is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ejpt 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.
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 unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, 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.
The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.
If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).
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. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway
6. On acceptance and publication
Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.
Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.
6.3 Access to your published article
Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.
Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.
Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the European Journal of Political Theory editorial office as follows:
The Reviews and Commentaries Editor can be contacted at:
Lior Erez, University of Haifa.
Email: ejptreviews@sagepub.co.uk