Overview: The Journal of Politics is interested in publishing high-quality papers that report original research from all areas and subfields of the political science discipline. Submitted manuscripts will undergo a double-blind reviewing process. The resultant referee reports provide advisory information to The JOP Editor, who makes the final decisions about publication. All manuscripts will be evaluated for their scholarly excellence, including contributions to relevant theory, appropriateness of methodological strategies, quality of argument, and clarity of presentation. The Journal of Politics does not review manuscripts that are currently under consideration at other journals.

Manuscript Length: Manuscripts normally submitted to The Journal of Politics are between 30 to 40 total pages, which would includes end material (appendixes, notes, references, tables, and figures). Shorter manuscripts are very much welcomed. We, of course, will consider reviewing longer manuscripts, but they will be evaluated to determine whether their excellence justifies the additional space required for publication. Under most circumstances, manuscripts longer than 45 total pages will not be reviewed (14,500 words). Note that these length guidelines assume that all textual material (Abstract, text, notes, Appendices, and references) are double-spaced. If a submission contains any single-spaced material, then the length requirements will be adjusted accordingly.

Supplemental Information: An author who states that additional information is available on a web site or to interested readers upon request should include that material in a clearly-marked separate document. This document will be sent to referees along with the manuscript. Therefore, it should be completely anonymous, with no information that may provide clues as to authorship of the supplemental document or the submitted manuscript, itself.

Abstract: An Abstract is required for all submitted manuscripts. This should appear on a page of its own, following the title page and preceding the first page of text. The Abstract should be a single paragraph that briefly (100 words or less) describes the problem under consideration, the analytical approach, and the major findings. References and citations to other work should not be included in the Abstract.

Manuscript Style: A brief statement (in PDF format) of style and presentation guidelines for manuscripts submitted to The Journal of Politics can be obtained by clicking here. All authors should pay careful attention to these guidelines and follow the instructions as closely as possible. More generally, submitted manuscripts should conform to the Style Manual for Political Science, 2006 Revised Edition (APSA Committee on Publications). Copies are available from The American Political Science Association, 1527 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036. For any matters not covered in either The JOP Style Guidelines or the APSA Style Manual, authors can also consult The Chicago Manual of Style (14th Edition).

Author Self-Identification Issues: The Journal of Politics employs a double-blind reviewing process. Therefore, authors should remove all self-identification information from the version of the manuscript that will be sent out to referees. Of course, this pertains to names, institutional affiliations, and addresses that normally appear on the title page or in running headers/footers and the like. Authors should also remove all acknowledgments, expressions of gratitude, and statements about grants or other financial support for the research reported in the manuscript. Generally, any references to personal interactions with other political scientists (e.g., a note stating "I received the data from ___") should be taken out. Authors may leave citations to their own work in the manuscript, as long as those citations refer to published work and do not identify themselves in any way (i.e., no personal pronouns). Authors should avoid citations to their doctoral dissertations or to forthcoming publications (either their own, or work written by others), both of which tend to provide fairly unambiguous clues about the source of the manuscript. Any such material can easily be added back into the manuscript, if it is accepted for publication.

Submission Procedures: Authors can use one of two different submission procedures to send manuscripts to The Journal of Politics. Details of each procedure are presented below. For both procedures, authors must provide a cover letter that includes (1) their complete mailing address, including institutional affiliation; (2) their title— e.g., Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, etc.; (3) their e-mail address; and (4) their telephone number. In cases of multiple authorship, we need the preceding information for each of the authors. But, one author should be clearly designated as the contact author for the manuscript. Once designated, that individual will receive all communications from The JOP office and Editor. Manuscripts cannot be returned to authors.

Authors should submit manuscripts according to one of the following two procedures. Authors should feel free to use either submission procedure. Note, however, that the first procedure will generally result in much faster turnaround time:

1. Electronic Submission: Two versions of the paper should be saved as Adobe Acrobat PDF files. These PDF files should be attached to an e-mail message sent to John G. Geer, Editor, The Journal of Politics, at jop@vanderbilt.edu. The e-mail message should contain all of the cover letter information described above.

The two electronic manuscripts should be identical except that one of them should have all author self-identification information removed. The textual components of the manuscript (title page, abstract, text, appendixes, notes, and references) must be included in a single PDF file. Tables and figures can be included in a single separate file; but, we strongly prefer that the entire manuscript be included in a single PDF file. Any supplemental reports or memos should also be provided as anonymous PDF files.

Please make sure that the files containing the anonymous version of the manuscript and any accompanying materials are completely anonymous— including any identifiers that may lurk in the "document information" window that exists for each PDF file. Also note that the JOP office cannot convert word-processed documents (i.e., MS Word or WordPerfect files) to PDF files. Any electronic manuscripts submitted in non-PDF formats will be printed and sent out to referees as hard copies.

2. Hard Copy Submission: Manuscripts can be submitted as hard copies. When doing so, authors should send four copies of the manuscript, three of which have all author self- identification information removed. Manuscripts should be printed on one side of each page, and all pages of each copy should be stapled together.

We also need a 3.5" diskette containing an electronic version of the paper. The latter can be in word-processed format (preferably, MS Word or WordPerfect), LaTeX files, or PDF files. If possible, diskettes should be placed into a cardboard or plastic mailer for protection against damage in transit.

The cover letter, manuscript copies, and protected diskette should be sent to:

John G. Geer
Editor, The Journal of Politics
Department of Political Science
Vanderbilt University
Box 1817 Station B
2301 Vanderbilt Place
Nashville, TN 37235

Turnaround Time: The Journal of Politics Editor and The JOP office staff make every effort to process manuscripts as quickly as possible. However, the double-blind refereeing process is invariably rather slow. It is impossible to predict the length of time that will be required to process any given manuscript.

As a general guideline, authors should allow three months from the date of submission for the publication decision on submitted manuscripts. Occasionally, the review process will take longer than that. In most cases, however, The JOP Editor can make a decision more quickly. Note that manuscripts submitted in electronic form, as PDF files, generally result in faster turnaround times than hard copy submissions.

For more information about current and recent turnaround times, please visit the "Manuscript Processing Statistics" page in The Journal of Politics web site.

Any questions about submission policies or procedures should be directed to The JOP Editor