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Journal of Theoretical Politics

Journal of Theoretical Politics


eISSN: 14603667 | ISSN: 09516298 | Current volume: 36 | Current issue: 1 Frequency: Quarterly

"Journals of political theory tend mainly to deal with the history of political thought. But the Journal of Theoretical Politics is different. It is concerned with thinking about problems in a systematic way which makes it unique in and important to the profession. We should constantly remind ourselves that a science without theory is a poor science" Giovanni Sartori

Journal of Theoretical Politics is the major journal for publication of work concerned with the development of theory in the study of political processes. It provides an authoritative forum for the publication of original, fully refereed papers that seek to make genuinely theoretical contributions to the study of politics.

The journal offers rigorous articles on a range of theoretical topics. It focuses on new theoretical work that is broadly accessible to political scientists and enhances an understanding of political processes.

The Journal of Theoretical Politics is an international peer-reviewed journal one of whose principal aims is to foster the development of theory in the study of political processes. It provides a forum for the publication of original papers seeking to make genuinely theoretical contributions to the study of politics.

The journal includes rigorous analytical articles on a range of theoretical topics. In particular, it focuses on new theoretical work which is broadly accessible to social scientists and contributes to our understanding of political processes. It also includes original syntheses of recent theoretical developments in diverse fields.

The journal does not favour any specific theoretical perspective, but emphasizes the general importance of theory in political science. It also encourages articles which evaluate the relative merits of completing theories to explain empirical phenomena.

The journal aims to include papers from fields such as:

  • conceptual analysis and methodological criticism
  • rational-choice, social choice, game theory and other deductive approaches
  • systems theory, cybernetics and information theory
  • democratic politics and international relations
  • theory of bureaucracy and organizations
  • origins and effects of institutions

Co-Editors
Torun Dewan London School of Economics, UK
John Patty Emory University, USA
Founding Editors
Richard Kimber  
Elinor Ostrom Indiana University, Bloomington, USA
Jan-Erik Lane  
Editorial Board
Scott Ashworth University of Chicago, USA
Anna Bassi University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, USA
Kathleen Bawn University of California-Los Angeles, USA
Jenna Bednar University of Michigan, USA
Andres Blais University of Montreal, Canada
Steve Brams New York University, USA
Steve Callander Stanford University, USA
Randall Calvert Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Cliff Carrubba Emory University, USA
Tom Clark Emory University, USA
Josep Colomer Georgetown University, USA
Gary Cox Stanford University, USA
Christophe Crombez Stanford University, USA
Torun Dewan London School of Economics, UK
Keith Dowding Australian National University, Australia
Tiberiu Dragu New York University, USA
John Dryzek University of Canberra, Australia
Marc Fleurbaey Princeton University, USA
Justin Fox Washington University in St. Louis, USA
Bruno Frey Zeppelin University, Germany
Sean Gailmard University of California-Berkeley, USA
Barbara Geddes UCLA, USA
Elisabeth Gerber University of Michigan, USA
Bob Grafstein University of Georgia, USA
Catherine Hafer New York University, USA
Alan Hamlin University of Manchester, UK
Thomas Hammond Michigan State University, USA
Gretchen Helmke University of Rochester, USA
Adrienne Heritier European University Institute, Italy
Rafael Hortala-Vallve London School of Economics, UK
Indridi Indridason University of California, USA
Kristin Kanthak University of Pittsburgh, USA
Dimitri Landa New York University, USA
Jeffrey Lax Columbia University, USA
Bahar Leventoglu Political Science, Duke University, USA
Ethan Bueno de Mesquita University of Chicago, USA
Nick Miller University of Maryland-Baltimore County, USA
Burt Monroe Pennsylvania State University, USA
James Morrow University of Michigan, USA
David Myatt London Business School, UK
Monika Nalepa University of Chicago, USA
Hannu Nurmi University of Turku, Finland
Franz Pappi University of Mannheim, Germany
Elizabeth Penn University of Chicago, USA
Thomas Pluemper University of Essex, UK
Mattias Polborn University of Illinois, USA
Kris Ramsay Princeton University, USA
Jim Rogers Texas A&M University, USA
Ken Shepsle Harvard University, USA
David Siegel Duke University, USA
Branislav Slantchev University of California-San Diego, USA
Alastair Smith New York University, USA
Duncan Snidal Oxford University, UK
Francesco Squintani University of Warwick, UK
Matthew Stephenson Harvard Law School, USA
Bernard Steunenberg University of Leiden, Netherlands
Milan Svolik Yale University, USA
Ahmer Tarar Texas A&M University, USA
George Tsebelis University of Michigan, USA
Martin van Hees University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Georg Vanberg Duke University, USA
Alan Wiseman Vanderbilt University, USA
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  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines: The Journal of Theoretical Politics

    Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jtp 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 The Journal of Theoretical Politics 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.

    1. What do we publish?
      1.1 Aims & Scope
      1.2 Article types
      1.3 Writing your paper
    2. Editorial policies
      2.1 Peer review policy
      2.2 Authorship
      2.3 Acknowledgements
      2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests
      2.5 Research Data
    3. Publishing policies
      3.1 Publication ethics
      3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
      3.3 Open access and author archiving
    4. 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
    5. Submitting your manuscript
      5.1 ORCID
      5.2 Information required for completing your submission
      5.3 Permissions
    6. 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
    7. Further information

    1. What do we publish?

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to The Journal of Theoretical Politics, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article Types

    There is no absolute limit on length, but 7000 words, including footnotes and references, is a useful target. An abstract of up to 150 words should precede the main text, accompanied by up to five key words. To facilitate anonymous review, there should be no identifying self-references beyond the title page. Authors should supply a short biography of 50-100 words, with a full mailing address, plus an email address if possible.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    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

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    2. Editorial policies

    2.1 Peer review policy

    Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested (recommended) reviewers at any stage of the submission process, be that through the web-based submission system or other communication. Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

    •  The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors

    •  The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper

    •  The author has recommended the reviewer

    •  The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution). 

    2.2 Authorship

    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.

    2.3 Acknowledgements

    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.

    Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

    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.

    2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests

    The Journal of Theoretical Politics encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.
     

    2.5 Research Data

    The journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.

    Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

    • share your research data in a relevant public data repository
    • include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, we encourage you to consider using the statement to explain why it cannot be shared.
    • cite this data in your research

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    3. Publishing Policies

    3.1 Publication ethics

    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

    The Journal of Theoretical Politics 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

    The Journal of Theoretical Politics 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.

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    4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

    4.1 Formatting

    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.

    4.3 Supplemental material

    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.

    4.4 Reference style

    Titles and section headings should be clear and brief. Lengthy quotations (exceeding 40 words) should be displayed, indented, in the text. Either British or American spelling may be used. Indicate Italic by underlining. Dates should be in the form 9 May 1989. Take out points in USA and other such abbreviations and do not use points after Dr, Mrs, Mr etc. When referring to pagination and dates use the smallest number of numerals possible (e.g. 10-19, 42-5, 1961-4, 1978-85).

    Tables and figures should have short, descriptive titles. All footnotes to tables and their source(s) should be placed under the tables. Column headings should clearly define the data presented. The final version of an accepted manuscript must include camera-ready artwork for all figures. Artwork intended for same-size use should have a maximum size 170:100 mm (page depth: page width); oversized artwork should be prepared in the same proportion.
    Mathematical formulas that appear within text should be presented on one line where possible.

    Essential notes should be indicated by superscript numbers in the text and collected at the end of the text. References cited in the text should read thus: Brown (1975: 63-4). Brown and Smith (1975, 1980). Use 'et al.' when citing a work by more than two authors, e.g. Brown et al. (1981). The letters a, b, c, etc. should be used to distinguish citations of different works by the same author in the same year, e.g. Brown (1975a, b). All references cited in the text should be listed alphabetically and presented in full after the notes, using the following style:

    Book:

    Author A and Author B (year) Book Title. Place: Publisher name.

    Clark JM and Hockey L (1979) Research for Nursing. Leeds: Dobson Publishers.

    Chapter in a book:

    Author A (year) Chapter title. In: Author A (ed.) Book Title. Place: Publisher, 00–00.

    Author A (year) Chapter title. In: Author A and Author B (eds) Book Title. Place: Publisher, 00–00.

    Gumley V (1988) Skin cancers. In: Tschudin V and Brown EB (eds) Nursing the Patient with Cancer. London: Hall House, 26–52.

    Article in a journal:

    Author A and Author B (year) Article title. Journal vol(iss): 00–00.

    Author A, Author B and Author C (year) Article title. Journal vol(iss): 00–00.

    Author A, Author B, Author C, et al. (year) Article title. Journal vol(iss): 00–00.

    Huth EJ, King K and Lock S (1988) Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. British Medical Journal 296(4): 401–405.

    Article in a journal published ahead of print:

    Author A and Author B (year) Article title. Journal00: 1–00 (accessed 00 month year).

    Author A, Author B and Author C (year) Article title. Journal 00: 1–00 (accessed 00 month year).

    Author A, Author B, Author C, et al. (year) Article title. Journal 00: 1–00 (accessed 00 month year).

    Huth EJ, King K and Lock S (1988) Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. British Medical Journal 00: 1–4 (accessed 7 October 2009).

    Note: volume is given as “00”.

    Website

    National Center for Professional Certification. (2002) Factors Affecting Organizational Climate and Retention. Available at: www.cwla.org./programmes/triechmann/2002fbwfiles.

    Unpublished thesis

    Clark JM (2001) Referencing style for journals. Unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Leicester, Leicester.

    Newspaper

    Clark JM (2006) Referencing style for journals. The Independent, 21 May, p.10.

    Articles that do not conform to these requirements may be returned to the authors for revision.

    A restricted quantity pdf will be provided for the corresponding author of each original or review article along with a complimentary journal copy. A maximum of 5 journal copies will be supplied for multi-authored articles. These will be supplied to the main author.

    Authors are responsible for obtaining permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. Authors should submit their manuscripts (including all figures and tables) electronically unless this is absolutely impossible.

    English Language Editing Services: Please click here for information on professional English language editing services recommended by Sage.

    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.

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    5. Submitting your manuscript

    The Journal of Theoretical Politics is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jtp 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.

    5.1 ORCID

    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).

    5.3 Permissions

    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.

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    6. On acceptance and publication

    6.1 Sage Production

    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.

    6.2 Online First publication

    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.

    6.4 Promoting your 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. 

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    7. Further information

    Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the The Journal of Theoretical Politics editorial office as follows:

    John Patty at jwpatty@gmail.com
    Torun Dewam at T.Dwean@lse.ac.uk.

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