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Alternatives

Alternatives

Global, Local, Political

eISSN: 21633150 | ISSN: 03043754 | Current volume: 49 | Current issue: 1 Frequency: Quarterly
A peer-reviewed journal, Alternatives explores the possibilities of new forms of political practice and identity under increasingly global conditions. Specifically, the editors focus on the changing relationships between local political practices and identities and emerging forms of global economy, culture and policy.

Alternatives was established in 1975 by scholars who were concerned with the more obvious dangers of Cold War but also with the need for less imperious and more sustainable forms of development. In both contexts, it focused on the implications of what was then just coming to be called globalization, and published many prescient analyses that now pass as conventional wisdom. It has long sought to promote a wide range of critical, normative and interdisciplinary approaches to political, social, cultural and ecological developments, and to encourage more creative and imaginative ways of thinking and acting in a rapidly transforming world. It has especially tried to encourage more sophisticated theoretical engagements with processes that seem to be reshaping relations between global and local, or universality and particularity, in ways that challenge prevailing assumptions about political life within and between states. To this end, we encourage submission of articles that engage contemporary political problems in a way that speaks to the circumstances of people living in many different parts of the world while maintaining theoretical rigour, empirical precision and a culturally sensitive imagination.

Alternatives is committed to publishing peer-reviewed articles that cover the entire field of political science and international relations. Areas covered include foreign policies, security policies, political theory, comparative politics, environmental politics, peace studies, conflict resolution, globalization and terrorism. Alternatives also aims to cover articles which explore the possibilities of new forms of political practice and identity under increasingly global conditions.

Editor
Lacin Idil Oztig Yildiz Technical University, Turkey
Editorial Board
Amitav Acharya American University, USA
Umut Can Adisonmez Izmir University of Economics, Turkey
Bülent Aras Sabanci University, Turkey
Boaz Atzili American University, USA
Samuel Barkin University of Massachusetts, Boston, USA
Daniel Beck Magdeburg University, Germany
Navnita Behera University of Delhi, India
Roland Bleiker The University of Queensland, Australia
Carlos Morreo Boada Australian National University, Australia
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly University of Victoria, Canada
Marwan Darweish Coventry University
Alistair Edgar Balsillie School of International Affairs, Canada
Elizaveta Gaufman University of Bremen, Germany
Henk van Houtum Radbound University, Netherlands
Aliaksei Kazharski Charles University, Pragu
Åshild Kolås Peace Research Institute Oslo, Norway
Devendraraj Madhanagopal XIM University, India
Ziya Önis Koc University, Turkey
Thomas Risse Freie Universitat Berlin
Jokubas Salyga The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, USA
Ameya Singh University of Oxford, UK
Carlos Solar Essex University, UK
Alexander Spencer Magdeburg University, Germany
Philip Steinberg Durham University, UK
Lisa Strombom Lund University, Sweden
Kate Sullivan de Estrada University of Oxford, UK
Dhananjay Tripathi South Asian University, India
Nick Vaughan-Williams University of Warwick, UK
Ritu Vij University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
Carmen Wunderlich University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
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  • Manuscript Submission Guidelines: Alternatives

    This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

    Please read the guidelines below then visit the journal’s submission site https://sage.atyponrex.com/journal/alt to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

    Sage disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

    Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Alternatives 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 Alternatives 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 Alternatives will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint 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 to a preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in Alternatives. If your paper is accepted, you will need to contact the preprint server to ensure the final published article link is attached to your preprint. Learn more about our preprint policy here.

    If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.

    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 Identifiable information
      4.4 Supplemental material
      4.5 Reference style
      4.6 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
      7.1 Appealing the publication decision

     

    1. What do we publish?

    Alternatives seeks to address the possibilities of new forms of political practice under conditions of spatiotemporal transformation. The editors especially invite submissions that address the changing relationships between local political practices and emerging forms of global economy, culture, and policy.

    The Alternatives review process draws upon scholars in many different societies. Authors are therefore strongly encouraged to ensure that submissions are accessible to a broad cross-cultural, interdisciplinary, and theoretically sophisticated audience.

    1.1 Aims & Scope

    Before submitting your manuscript to Alternatives, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope.

    1.2 Article types

    Original manuscripts that fall within the aims and scope of Alternatives may be submitted to the editor via the Alternatives ManuscriptCentral site.

    • Research articles should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words in length. However, longer as well as shorter articles will be published if justified by the content of the contribution. 
    • Review articles are limited to 5,000 words in length.
    • Commentaries should be between 2.000-3.000 words.

    If you are interested in submitting a book review or a commentary, please contact the Editor at loztig@yildiz.edu.tr.

    For more information on manuscript formatting, please review the Preparing your manuscript section.

    1.3 Writing your paper

    Visit the Sage Author Gateway for general advice on how to get published, plus links to further resources.

    Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance your 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).

    The journal’s policy is to have manuscripts reviewed by two expert reviewers. Alternatives utilizes a double-anonymized peer review process in which the reviewer and authors’ names and information are withheld from the other. All manuscripts are reviewed as rapidly as possible, while maintaining rigor. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to the Editor who then makes the final decision.

    The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in Alternatives. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

    Special issue manuscripts are sent to Guest Editors upon submission to ensure they meet the scope of the special issue. The rest of the peer review process will be handled by Alternatives' internal editorial team. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to the Editor who then makes the final decision. 

    Alternatives is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Web of Science (previously Publons). Web of Science is a third-party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for Alternatives can opt in to Web of Science in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the Web of Science website.

    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.]

    Per ICMJE recommendations, it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.

    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.

    2.3.2 Writing assistance

    Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

    2.4 Declaration of conflicting interests

    Alternatives 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

    Alternatives 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, use the statement to confirm 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

    Alternatives 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 Alternatives against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized 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 license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license 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

    Alternatives 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

    4.1 Formatting

    • The preferred format for your manuscript is Word.
    • Text and tables must be submitted in a standard word processing format, and any figures should be saved at high-resolution in TIF, JPEG, or PDF format.
    • The first page of the typescript should bear the title of the paper, together with the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s), and e-mail address(es). The second page of the typescript should contain an abstract, 4-5 keywords, and short author biographies. The third page should repeat the title, followed by the main body of the text.
    • All headings should be placed on the lefthand side of the text, with a double-line space above and below. Primary headings should be typed in CAPITALS; secondary heads should be typed with Initial Capital Letters; and subsidiary headings should be indicated with an initial (a), (b), (c), and so on.
    • The location of any tables and illustrations should be clearly noted in the text. The publisher will typeset the tables, but graphs, diagrams and illustrations must be in a form suitable for reproduction without retouching. Captions from illustrations should be listed on a separate page.
    • In all matters of spelling, abbreviations, punctuation, and so on, the editors intend to conform to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA). The manuscript, including the Notes, must be double-spaced throughout. Stylistic variation within the manuscript must be kept to a bare minimum, including one font and font size.

    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 color will appear in color online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For specifically requested color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

    4.3 Identifiable information

    Where a journal uses double-anonymized peer review, authors are required to submit:

    1. A version of the manuscript which has had any information that compromises the anonymity of the author(s) removed or anonymized. This version will be sent to the peer reviewers.
    2. A separate title page which includes any removed or anonymized material. This will not be sent to the peer reviewers.

    Visit the Sage Author Gateway for detailed guidance on making an anonymous submission.

    4.4 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 supplemental files.

    4.5 Reference style

    Alternatives adheres to the APA reference style. View the APA guidelines to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

    4.6 English language editing services

    Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit Alternatives 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

    Alternatives – to submit a new article, please go to our new submission site, Sage Journals Submission: https://sage.atyponrex.com/journal/alt. From this site you can create submissions and revisions and track the status of your manuscripts. Please note, you will need to create a new CONNECT account on the Sage Journals Submission site the first time you use it, your Sage Track account will not work on this submission system.

    IMPORTANT: To submit a revision for a manuscript that was submitted to Alternatives via Sage Track prior to 19th October 2023, please submit your revision in Sage Track, not via Sage Journals Submission. All transfers into Alternatives will also need to be submitted via Sage Track. Please reference the email you received after approving the transfer or reach out to our Transfer Support Team for assistance.

    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 Alternatives editorial office at alt@sagepub.com.

    7.1 Appealing the publication decision

    Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

    If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com

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