All outside submissions undergo review to ensure that they are a good fit for our journal and that they meet high standards of scholarship.
Manuscripts are first reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, who then assigns each article to one or more subject editors. Specialties of subject editors include criminal justice, economic development, education, elections, energy & the environment, foreign relations, gender & sexuality, governmental ethics, healthcare, immigration, poverty & economic mobility, public health, racial justice, transportation, and urban affairs. However, we welcome articles on all issues of public policy.
If the subject editors determine that a submission aligns with the mission of the journal and likely meets the journal’s academic standards, one or more faculty members with relevant expertise are asked to provide peer review, feedback, and a publication recommendation. Faculty peer review is a double-blind process—authors will not know the identity of their reviewers, nor will reviewers know the identities of authors.
The subject editors then consider the feedback and recommendations of the peer reviewers and work with the article’s author to copyedit and polish the manuscript. Finally, the manuscript is returned to the Editor-in-Chief for publication.
The review process is lengthy and may take several months.
