Policy Perspective

About

Policy Perspectives is a peer-reviewed, open access, biannual journal with occasional special issues, published by Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) an Islamabad-based think tank dedicated to promoting policy-oriented research and human development. Established in 1979, the Institute defines Pakistan Affairs, International Relations and Faith and Society as its primary research areas, which are further divided into various sub-themes for focused studies.

The Institute’s research spanning over four decades has so far produced over 1500 seminars, conferences and roundtables, around 400 publications, and about 2500 research reports. Policy Perspectives is the flagship journal of the Institute,disseminating the research carried out by IPS and its associates on diverse range of current and evolving topics.

The journal reaches out to a large number of individual and institutional researchers, policy makers, key opinion leaders and other stakeholders within the country and across the globe, extending policy-oriented analysis, perspectives and recommendations on issues of national and global significance.

Aim and Scope

Policy Perspectives is distinctive in combining original research papers with reflective studies and analysis on varied themes and issues. Contributions to the journal appeal to a wide academic and professional readership, and reach an interdisciplinary and international audience. The Journal welcomes original, unpublished scholarly articles from research scholars, experts and policy practitioners. and accepts contributions in the thematic areas of international relations, Pakistan affairs, and faith and society in general, and the topics related to security, society, economy, strategy, governance and foreign policy in particular.

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief: Khalid Rahman

Editor:  Dr Fakhr-ul-Islam

Associate Editors: Syed Nadeem Farhat, Zahida Khalid

Editorial Assistant: Shafaq Sarfaraz

Advisory Board

Dr Aisha Ahmad

Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Centre for South Asian Studies, The Asian Institute; Co-Director of the Islam and Global Affairs Initiative, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Dr Akis Kalaitzidis

Professor, International Relations and Comparative Politics, School of Social Science and Languages, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, USA.

Dr Ivan Safranchuk

Director; Senior Research Fellow, Centre of Central Asia and Afghanistan of the Institute for International Studies, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) University, Moscow, Russia.

Dr Muhammad Umer Chapra

Advisor, Islamic Research and Training Institute (IRTI), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Dr Robert Jensen

Professor Emeritus, School of Journalism, Moody College of Communication, University of Texas, Austin, USA.

Prof. Roger van Zwanenberg,

Managing Director, Pluto Journals, London, UK.

Dr Shahram Akbarzadeh

Research Professor, Middle East & Central Asian Politics, Faculty of Arts and Education, Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Dr Torkel Brekke

Professor, Cultural and Religious Diversity, Department of International Studies & Interpreting, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.

Dr Wang Xu

Associate Professor, Executive Director, Department of South Asian Studies, School of Foreign Languages, Peking University, Beijing, China.

Dr Zahid Hussain Bukhari

Executive Director, Center for Islam and Public Policy (CIPP), Washington, DC, USA.

Call for Papers

Note: Policy Perspectives follows strict anti-plagiarism policy. ​

Guidelines for Contributors

The Policy Perspectives welcomes original, unpublished, policy-oriented scholarly manuscripts from research scholars, experts and policy practitioners based in Pakistan and other parts of the world. The journal reaches out to a large number of individual and institutional researchers, policymakers, key opinion leaders and other stakeholders within the country and across the globe, extending policy-oriented analysis, perspectives and recommendations on issues of national and global significance.

Submissions should be made using our digital submission system while ensuring that guidelines have been followed. All submissions are screened by the Editorial Board review; shortlisted articles undergo double-blind peer reviews. Publication in the Journal depends on Board’s positive feedback and reviewers’ recommendation.

Submission Process

To submit a manuscript for consideration for publication in the Policy Perspectives click on the “Submit a Manuscript” button on ScienceOpen in the header of the journal landing page. For details, please see guidelines for online submissions.

Word Count: Abstract should be of no more than 150 words, with 5-6 keywords. Total word count of the article should be ideally around 5000 words.

Book Reviews of latest books of around 1000 words can also be submitted.

Submission Timeline

• Upon submitting an article, author/s will receive an acknowledgement of its receipt. After plagiarism check, the article will be evaluated by the Editorial Board for its suitability for the Journal. If selected, it will be sent to two subject experts for double-blind peer review. This process will take three to four months approximately. Timelines of review process may vary depending on reviewer’s availability and responsiveness.
• Reviewers may suggest major or minor revisions, or reject the manuscript for publication. After Editorial Board has made a decision based on reviewers’ recommendations, author/s will be informed.
• In case of major or minor revisions, reviewers’ feedback will be shared with authors. Authors will be required to incorporate the feedback in two to three weeks for reviewer/s to take a second look.
• While resubmitting, author/s should include the revised article in Track Mode along with their responses for the reviewer/s stating how their comments have been incorporated.
• Upon receiving the revised draft, it will be shared with reviewers to see if they are satisfied with the revisions. Due to reviewers’ busy schedule, this process may take one to two months. Final decision will be communicated to author/s.
• If the manuscript has been approved for publication, it will be included in the next issue. Since Policy Perspectives occasionally publishes special issues, approved article may not be published in the earliest issue. Nonetheless, the author/s will be informed and updated at each stage. Although the editorial team aims to expedite the whole process, it can still take up to a year or less between the original submission deadline and final publication.

Spelling and Style Guide

Spellings and punctuation should be used where they are optional in American English (e.g. organize, center, defense). Commas and periods should be given inside closing quotation marks. Single quotation marks are to be used throughout. Longer quotations should be indented and set off from the text, and given in smaller font size, without quotation marks.

Dates should be written as May 20, 2020. Abbreviations should be given in brackets after giving the full form on first use, e.g., United Nations (UN). Subsequently, UN should be used throughout the text.

References

Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) 16th Edition should be followed for endnotes. Main words in the titles of articles, books and journals should begin with capital letters. Titles of Books, Journals, Newspapers should be italicized. Reports should be cited like books. In case of multiple authors, give the names of all the authors in the endnotes. Examples of citations in CMOS16 are given below:

Books: Syed Irtiqa Ahmed Zaidi, Negotiating the Power Corridors: Forty Challenging Years of Civil Service (Islamabad: IPS Press, 2020).

Chapters in books: Ye Hailin, “Rise of Extremism in India and Chinese Response,” Hindutva: Rising Extremism in India, ed. Khalid Rahman, 2nd ed. (Islamabad: IPS Press, 2020), 117.

Journal articles: Asma Sana Bilal and Nabiya Imran, “Emerging Contours of Transatlantic Relationship under Trump Administration,” Policy Perspectives 16, no. 1 (2019): 3-21 (7) https://doi.org/10.13169/polipers.16.1.0003.

Newspaper articles/websites: Waqar Masood Khan, “Unified Economic Response,” Express Tribune, April 1, 2020, accessed May 12, 2020, https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/637477-.

Diagrams and Tables

Tables, charts, graphs, and figures may be included in the manuscript where necessary with consecutive numbering, proper captions and complete references. These should be in an editable form. Images should be submitted in high resolution (300-600 dpi) in .jpeg and .bitmap. Responsibility to seek permission to reproduce illustrations subject to copyright lies with the author/s.

Copyright

This journal is published under the Creative Commons License CC BY 4.0. This license allows users, scholars and readers, to read the content or any part of the content without charges. This license allows scholars to download and use the contents for educational purposes. This license does not allow the content or any part of the content to be used for commercial purposes.

Submission/Publication Charges

There is no submission fee or publication charges.