New Editorial Team required
The Joint Management Committee (JMC) of the ECPR Standing Group on International Relations (SGIR) and the European International Studies Association (EISA) are looking for a new editorial team to take over the running of the European Journal of International Relations (EJIR) during late 2021.
The EJIR was launched in 1995, and it is published in association with SAGE. As one of the leading international journals in the field, it currently holds a five-year impact factor of 3.925 and ranks 06/95 in the field of International Relations according to the 2020 ISI Journal Citation Reports® Ranking. It attracted 391 new submissions in 2019.
The present editorial team consists of:
Geoffrey Underhill (Editor-in-Chief, University of Amsterdam)
Ben Scandrett (Managing Editor, University of Sussex)
Luc Fransen, Annette Freyberg-Inan and Darshan Vigneswaran (Associate Editors, University of Amsterdam)
Lee Seymour (Associate Editor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)
The Journal
The European Journal of International Relations publishes peer-reviewed scholarly contributions across the full breadth of the field of International Relations, from cutting edge theoretical debates to topics of contemporary and historical interest to scholars and practitioners in the IR community. The journal eschews adherence to any particular school or approach, nor is it predisposed or restricted to any particular methodology. Theoretically aware empirical analysis and conceptual innovation forms the core of the journal’s dissemination of International Relations scholarship throughout the global academic community. In keeping with its European roots, this includes a commitment to underlying philosophical and normative issues relevant to the field, as well as interaction with related disciplines in the social sciences and humanities. This theoretical and methodological openness aims to produce a European journal with global impact, fostering broad awareness and innovation in a dynamic discipline.
Adherence to this broad mandate has underpinned the journal’s emergence as a major and independent worldwide voice across the subfields of International Relations scholarship. The Editors embrace and are committed to further developing this inheritance. Above all, the journal aims to achieve a representative balance across the diversity of the field and to promote deeper understanding of the rapidly-changing world around us. This includes an active and on-going commitment to facilitating dialogue with the study of global politics in the social sciences and beyond, among others international history, international law, international and development economics, and political/economic geography. The EJIR warmly embraces genuinely interdisciplinary scholarship that actively engages with the broad debates taking place across the contemporary field of international relations.
Responsibilities and Requirements
The SGIR and the EISA wish to maintain both the broad remit of EJIR and its high international standing as a world-class journal based in Europe. The key priorities for the journal over the next term include its further internationalisation, the enhancement of its Impact Factor, adaptation to journal publishing landscape changes, and commitment to Equality and Diversity.
They are, therefore, looking for an editorial team with the strength and institutional support to sustain the tradition and position established by the previous editors. The post will be filled by an editorial team, headed by an Editor-in-Chief. More specifically:
- The successful team will consist of excellent scholars with an internationally recognized track record and editorial experience capable of sustaining the current success of the journal and developing its strong international profile. The team will also demonstrate diversity of scholarship, coverage of a wide range of subfields in the area of International Relations, and an overall balance between theoretical and applied work. The successful team will also be balanced in terms of gender and sensitive to diversity.
- The Editor-in-Chief should be based in a European institution and be a member of the ECPR SGIR and/or the EISA. While the team can be multi-institutional, applicants need to provide a clear view of how they will collaborate and establish clear lines of communication. The lines of responsibility must be clearly outlined in the final appointment contract.
- The editorial team will work collaboratively with the JMC and SAGE on the overall editorial strategy. The Editor-in-Chief is expected to attend the JMC’s annual meeting in order to report on the journal’s development.
- Any changes to the composition of the editorial team will have to be explicitly justified and agreed in consultation with the JMC.
- The successful team needs to demonstrate awareness and flexibility to collaborate with the JMC in light of the evolving publishing landscape. SAGE, the ECPR, and the JMC will provide advice and information about new open-access regulations and other related issues.
- The length of tenure is four years (with the possibility of extension to a fifth year).
How to apply
Proposals should not exceed 5,000 words (excluding the CVs) and should include the following components:
- Statement of strategic editorial vision on how to maintain and enhance the EJIR’s profile and impact, including for example:
- New initiatives
- Web presence, social media strategy, and outreach
- Statement of editorial management
- Peer-review strategy
- Handling of complaints
- Role of the editorial board
- Statement of commitment to Equality and Diversity both with regard to the composition of the editorial team and the editorial board, as well as the content of the journal itself
- Description of the editorial team
- Editor-in-Chief
- Associate Editors
- Proposed editorial budget summary (see paragraph below)
- CVs (max 5 pages) of all members of the editorial team
Budget summary
Financial support in the form of an annual fixed stipend will be paid to facilitate the running of the journal by the appointed editorial team. This should be used to fund administrative, editorial and/or travel costs (where applicable).
The outgoing editorial team is currently supported by a part-time editorial assistant (15 hours per week), funded by the stipend. This support will be available to the new team.
Please include an annual budget in your application outlining proposed costs over the term of the editorship.
Please also indicate if the host departments or universities can provide any additional resources or support to the editorial team in the running of the journal.
Applications should be submitted by e-mail to the Chair of the Search Committee, Anna Leander.
The deadline for submissions is 1 May 2021.
Decision and handover
Short-listed teams will be interviewed in June 2021, the decision will be communicated by the end of July 2021, and the official appointment will be made by early September 2021, upon which the handover process will commence.
It is envisaged that the handover process will be completed by the end of November 2021, and the new team will be able to take on full editorial responsibilities by 1 December 2021.
Additional Questions
Queries about the editorial responsibilities and the application procedure should be addressed to the Chair of the Search Committee, Anna Leander, and the ECPR’s Communications Manager, Rebecca Gethen.
Other members of the JCM Search Committee include Valeria Bello (Ramón Llull University), Dirk De Bièvre (University of Antwerp), and Nikitas Konstantinidis (IE University).
Further information about the journal itself can also be obtained from the current Editor-in-Chief, Geoffrey Underhill.
