The ISYP
Journal on Science and World Affairs
A new project by International
Student/Young Pugwash
The ISYP
Journal on Science and World Affairs forms part of a growing list of projects
led by the Executive Board of International Student/Young Pugwash (ISYP),
most of which are designed to forge a stronger community and ultimately
linking our organisation’s activities with those of the broader
peace-building community.
On more specific terms, the ISYP Journal on Science and World Affairs
is a biannual, internationally peer-reviewed publication that hopes to
serve as a forum for the discussion of the world problematique that embeds
international affairs, from the perspective of the world’s youth.
This characteristic makes the journal an ideal medium for the publication
of articles written by students and young professionals, who have the
potential of offering innovative standpoints, both for the analysis and
for the solution of the problems that our societies are confronted with.
In this sense, our main priority is to constitute the journal as a high-quality
periodical that is capable of offering a balanced view of the youth’s
positions on important, far-reaching issues – positions which often
do not get an airing in mainstream academic journals.
On the journal’s
editorial structure
The ISYP Journal on Science and World Affairs is in principle a project
run by students and young professionals who are aided by important scholars
from different areas. The general co-ordination of the project is in the
hands of the Managing Editors. The responsibilities of the managing editors
are:
- To manage the general operations of the journal.
- To coordinate communications between the reviewers, the members of the Editorial Board, the authors and the general public.
- To elaborate a yearly budget for the journal’s operation.
- To make an initial selection of articles to be sent to reviewers.
- To select the reviewers.
- To lead the revision process, based on the comments made by reviewers.
The highest decision organ of the journal is the Editorial Board, constituted by the Executive Board of ISYP along with independent members of the ISYP community. The Editorial Board has the following responsibilities:
- To approve the yearly budget.
- To make the final selection of articles to be sent to reviewers.
- To approve the guidelines of publication.
- To resolve controversies.
In order
to create an institutional linkage to senior members of the Pugwash movement,
the editors are advised by the members of an Advisory Board in the selection
of themes and the identification of potential contributors and reviewers.
The reviewers, who are partly drawn from this Advisory Board, are responsible
for assuring that the articles that are published are of a high quality
and free from inconsistencies or inaccuracies. They perform this task
by commenting on the articles and by providing guidance to the Managing
Editors on the editorial work that remains to be done.
The basic edition of the journal is the online edition (ISSN 1574-1311).
The location of the journal is the web domain www.scienceandworldaffairs.org.
The journal is also associated with a professional publisher, Het Spinhuis
Publishers (Amsterdam), for a printed edition of the journal in the form
of ISYP yearbooks. The online edition will remain cost-free in the future
in order to guarantee a broad distribution. The printed edition is completely
identical to the online edition (thus, the page numbering is the same).
The yearbooks contain additional ISYP-related materials. The Editorial
Board intends to make the printed edition of the journal available to
research and academic institutions in less developed countries at no or
low cost.
On the journal’s
topics
The ISYP Journal on Science and World Affairs covers a broad range of
topics related to global problems and the socially responsible application
of science and technology. The journal’s topics reflect the long
tradition of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. In
particular, the journal focuses on the following thematic subdivisions:
- Security and co-operation: Disarmament and proliferation, weapons of mass destruction, international co-operation, United Nations studies, conflict resolution.
- Development and human security: Economic inequality, Bretton-Woods institutions, globalisation, social movements, sustainable development, climate change and mitigation of its effects.
- Science studies: Epistemology, the ethics of scientific research, new knowledge-production models, the social implications of science and technology.
- The future of Pugwash: Structure and organisation of the Pugwash movement, the history of Pugwash, the role of Pugwash and peace-oriented NGOs in a multifaceted world.
This last
topic is of special relevance for two reasons. First, it opens a space
for the discussion of the future of the non-proliferation movement in
an academic ambiance. But second – and perhaps more importantly
– it opens the possibility for articles containing in-depth analyses
of the pragmatic issues of activism in general, a topic that has yet to
be embraced by peer-reviewed academic journals.
The journal is aimed at an audience composed of political and social scientists,
international affairs scholars, activists and NGOs, and the general public
with college education. However, in order to maintain a broad international
audience, the editors will be careful with the journal becoming too topic-specialised.
This does not deny the possibility of releasing special topic-specific
issues.
On the contributors
and their articles
To facilitate locating potential authors, the Editors of the ISYP Journal
on Science and World Affairs will depend strongly on the articles submitted
to the annual International Student/ Young Pugwash Conferences. While
we expect the majority of authors to be students or young professionals,
also original materials from more senior contributors will be published
in the journal.
In reference to the annual ISYP Conferences, article submission for these
events will become a decisive element in the allocation of funds –
if available – among the selected participants. Therefore, high
quality article submissions can potentially be rewarded with travel grants
for attending ISYP events.
In every case, the authors will be asked to submit only original, unpublished
materials. There are five possible types of submissions, each of them
described below.
- Articles. Original pieces ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 words on any of the topics of the journal.
- Reviews. Original pieces reviewing a specific topic. From 5,000 to 8,000 words.
- Briefs. Short pieces (800-2,000 words) reporting important events/findings on the topics covered by the journal.
- Comments. Opinion pieces on any of the topics covered by the journal or on previously published articles and/or reviews.
- Book reviews. Pieces of 1,000 words or less reviewing recently published books covering any of the journal’s topics.
All submissions
should be sent to editors@scienceandworldaffairs.org.
