Special Issues

Purpose and scope

Themed collections bring together complementary scholarship on a defined question in any academic field or across fields. A collection should have a coherent intellectual purpose and remain open to different findings and perspectives. No collection is currently open for submissions.

What a proposal should contain

Provide a proposed title, a rationale explaining the scholarly need, fit with the journal, key questions, intended article types, guest-editor biographies and relevant expertise. Include a realistic timetable and any prospective contributions, without promising their acceptance. Disclose financial, professional and personal interests.

Guest-editor responsibilities

Guest editors may help refine the scope, invite suitable contributions and recommend reviewers, subject to the journal editor’s oversight. They must protect confidentiality, disclose conflicts and follow the same assessment standards as regular submissions. They may not make decisions on their own work or that of close collaborators.

Review and decisions

Invited papers receive the same scrutiny as unsolicited work. The journal editor retains responsibility for decisions and may appoint independent handling editors. No minimum acceptance quota, guaranteed publication date or payment-based acceptance arrangement is offered. A collection can be delayed or cancelled if scholarly requirements are not met.