GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE publishes original, peer-reviewed manuscripts that provide scientific essays focusing on issues in comparative politics, policy analysis, international relations and other sub-disciplines of political science, as well as original theoretical or conceptual analyses. All essays must contribute to a broad understanding of the region of Central Europe.

Manuscripts should be submitted in electronic version via e-mail to pce@mup.cz, preferably in Word format.

Presentation of the paper
Each issue the POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE focuses on one main topic or theme. This theme is indicated in advance, at the latest in the previous issue. Besides essays focused on the current issue, essays with other themes are welcomed too.

Essays should be written in English (preferably British English).
Essays should not normally exceed 12,000 words in length.

When submitting the essay, please also attach:

  • an abstract of 150 - 200 words, in English, stating precisely the topic under consideration, the method of argument used in addressing the topic, and the conclusions reached
  • a list of up to six keywords suitable for indexing and abstracting purposes
  • a brief biographical note about each author, including previous and current institutional affiliation
  • a full postal and e-mail address, as well as telephone and fax numbers of the author. If the manuscript is co-authored, then please provide the requested information about the second author.

All essays are checked by a referee; they undergo a double-blind peer review. At least two external referees review manuscripts. POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE reserves the right to reject any manuscript as being unsuitable in topic, style or form, without requesting an external review.

In order to ensure anonymity during the peer-review process, the name(s), title(s), and full affiliation(s) of the author(s) should only appear on a separate cover sheet, together with her/his preferred mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and fax numbers.

POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE reserves the right to edit or otherwise alter all contributions, but authors will receive proofs for approval before publication.

Style Guidelines
Below are some guidelines for in-text citations, notes, and references, which authors may find useful when preparing manuscripts for submission.

Manuscript style guidelines
Authors are urged to write as concisely as possible, but not at the expense of clarity. Descriptive or explanatory passages, necessary for information but which tend to break up the flow of text, should appear in footnotes. For footnotes please use Arabic numbers. Footnotes should be placed on the same page as the text reference, with the same number in the essay.

Dates should be in the form of 1 November 2005; 1994-1998; or the 1990s.

References in the text
In the text, refer to the author(s) name(s) (without initials, unless there are two authors with the same name) and year of publication. Unpublished data and personal communications (interviews etc.) should include initials and year. Publications which have not yet appeared are given a probable year of publication and should be checked at the proofing stage on an author query sheet. For example: Since Bull (1977) has shown that ... This is in results attained later (Buzan - Jones - Little 1993: 117). As contemporary research shows (Wendt 1992), are states the ....

Publications by the same author(s) in the same year should be identified with a, b, c (2005a, 2005b) closed up to the year and separated by commas. Publications in references that include different authors should be separated by a semicolon: (Miller 1994a: 32, 1994b; Gordon 1976). If the year of first publication by a particular author is important, use the form: (e.g. Bull 1977/2002: 34). If there are two authors of a publication, separate the names by ' - ' (not ' and ' or ' & '). If there are more than two authors, put the name of the first author followed by ' et al. ', or write all names separated with ' - ' (four authors maximum).

References to unauthorized data from periodicals may be given in brackets in the text together with the exact page(s). For example: '(quoted in International Security (Summer 1990): 5). ' If such a reference is included in the reference list, the title of the contribution referred to must be provided, and a short title without inverted commas and a year of publication is used for in-text-referencing (e.g. short title year). As a general rule, an exact web address of a particular article can be substituted for its exact page(s).

List of References
References are placed in alphabetical order of authors. Examples of correct forms of references for alphabetical style:

BOOKS:

Single author books:
Diehl, Paul F. (1994): International Peacekeeping. With a new epilogue on Somalia, Bosnia, and Cambodia, The Johns Hopkins University Press.

Two or more authors:

Degnbol-Martinussen, John - Engberg-Pedersen, Poul (1999): Aid. Understanding International Development Cooperation, Zed Books, Mellemfolkelight Samvirke, Danish Association for International Cooperation, Copenhagen.

EDITED VOLUMES:

Rittberger, Volker, ed. (1993): Regime Theory and International Relations, Clarendon Press.

CHAPTERS FROM MONOGRAPHS:

George, Alexander L. (2004): Coercive Diplomacy, in Art, Robert J. - Waltz, Kenneth N., eds., The Use of Force. Military Power and International Politics. Sixth Edition, 70-76, Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

Printed journals:
Haas, Ernst B. (1961): International Integration. The European and the Universal Process. International Organization 15 (4): 5-54.

Online editions of journals:
Judt, Tony (2002c): Its Own Worst enemy, The New York Review of Books: available at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15632 (15 August 2002).

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES:

Printed editions:
Excerpts From the Pentagon´s Plan: Prevent the Re-Emergence of a New Rival (1992) The New York Times (9 March).

Online editions:
Cooper, Robert (2002): 'Why We Still Need Empires ', The Guardian Unlimited (7 April): available at http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4388915,00.html (2 November, 2003).

RESEARCH REPORTS AND PAPERS FROM CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS:

Waisová, Šárka (2005): Czech Security Policy - Between Atlanticism and Europeanization, Bratislava: Ministry of Defence, Working Paper No. 05/2.


Illustrations and tables
Supply tables, figures and plates on separate sheets at the end of the article, with their position within the text clearly indicated on the page where they are introduced. Provide typed captions for figures and plates (including sources and acknowledgements) on a separate sheet. Electronic versions should be saved in separate files with the main body of text and should be saved preferably in Jpeg format.

Authors are asked to present tables with the minimum use of horizontal rules (usually three are sufficient) and to avoid vertical rules except in matrices. It is important to provide clear copies of figures (not photocopies or faxes) which can be reproduced by the printer and do not require redrawing. Photographs should be preferably black and white gloss prints with a wide tonal range.

Book Reviews and Review Essays - Guidelines for Contributing Authors
POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE welcomes reviews of recently published books (i.e. those published in the year in which the current issue of POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE was published or in the previous year). Authors should submit reviews of works relating to political science and other social sciences with the themes focused on (East) Central European issues.

POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE encourages authors to submit either of two types of reviews: a book review or a review essay.

When submitting a book review, authors should abide by the following requirements:

  • A book review should not exceed 1,500 words
  • State clearly the name of the author(s), the title of the book (the subtitle, if any, should also be included), the place of publication, the publishing house, the year of publication and the number of pages.
  • If the reviewed book is the result of a particular event (a conference, workshop, etc.), then this should be mentioned in the introductory part of the review
  • Review authors should describe the topic of the book under consideration, but not at the expense of providing an evaluation of the book and its potential contribution to the relevant field of research. In other words, the review should provide a balance between description and critical evaluation. The potential audience of the reviewed work should also be identified
  • An exact page reference should be provided for all direct quotations used in reviewing the book.

Contributors of review essays should meet the following requirements:

  • A review essay should not exceed 6,000 words. It should also comply with all of the above requirements for book reviews
  • Authors may either review several books related to a common topic, or provide a review essay of a single book considered to provide an exceptional contribution to the knowledge in a given field of research
  • While a review essay should primarily deal with the contents of the book(s) under review, POLITICS IN CENTRAL EUROPE encourages authors to use the reviewed material as a springboard for their own ideas and thoughts on the subject.