The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy is launching a new working paper series! The series is
designed to convene conversations around key themes of the Democracy Centre, to build a
transdisciplinary and global network of early-career researchers and more established scholars, and to
provide constructive feedback to authors to help develop papers as a step toward publication in a
peer-review outlet. We especially welcome early-stages and original research, particularly from early
career researchers. Most of all, we seek to offer an accessible and welcoming process that can help
scholars learn about the academic publishing process in a professional, friendly, and supportive way.
We welcome submissions on themes related to democracy and democratic participation, threats to
democracy, and autocracy. The series is multi-disciplinary, and seeks to attract contributions from
diverse fields, including but not limited to anthropology, economics, history, international relations,
law, political science, and sociology.
Additionally, the series has special foci specified by the editor. The current special focus is on the rule
of law and authoritarian practices. We are particularly interested in papers that examine the
relationship between law and authoritarianism, whether at an international, national, or local-level,
including lived experiences. We understand law broadly, including both formal and informal legal
orders. We also welcome papers on the use of media/social media, authoritarianism and
race/gender/sexuality, and transnational networks of authoritarian leaders, parties, and movements.
Papers will go through an initial round of review and selection by the Editor. Selected papers will go
on to receive comments from our editorial board members. Our review process is unblinded, meaning
that your identity will be known to the reviewers, and their identity will be known to you.
If you have a paper that you think might fit, please contact Editor or Co-Editor. We are happy to discuss
whether your paper fits the scope of our call before submission.
What the series can offer you as a contributor:
– A pre-review of your paper to determine if it is suitable for the series. At this stage we may
request some initial revisions, or advise you to submit to another outlet.
– If your paper is accepted to the series, we can then offer one round of constructive peer review
from experts in the field, intended to strengthen your early-stages work and help prepare it
for submission at a peer review journal.
– Professional copy editing and proof reading.
– Promotion via social media and the Institute’s webpage.
What we’re looking for from contributors:
– Original research in the form of an article, of a minimum of 10,000 and maximum of 14,000
words (not including bibliography/works cited).
– A willingness to take on constructive feedback to strengthen your paper.
– Timely responses to editorial queries (selected papers will be asked to respond to comments).
– Please note we may also use citation software (i.e., TurnItIn) to verify that citations have been
used properly.
Please send any questions or notes of interest to the Editors, Rebecca.Tapscott@graduateinstitute.ch
or Co-Editor, ricardopagliuso.ufba@gmail.com.
To submit a paper, email it to wpsdemocracy@graduateinstitute.ch, cc’ing the Editor and Co-Editor.
First round submissions are due on 15 October 2022, and will be considered on a rolling basis until
then.