Governance in Africa: Invitation to Submit

Governance in Africa: Invitation to Submit
Governance in Africa (GiA) is a new journal focusing on contemporary issues that affect governance at all levels in Africa – from the very local and traditional, through the national and regional, to the global. GiA publishes original research, expert commentary and policy briefings on a number of relevant themes. Its purpose is to build and consolidate knowledge in this field, to increase the reach and impact of research, and to influence policy at the highest levels. As economic growth and investment continue to surge in Africa, governance has become more and more a burning issue for African populations who expect to enjoy the benefits of success.

GiA has adopted the Gold Route open access approach to academic publishing, which means that all content is free to view immediately it is published. It is the belief of our editors that scholarly output should be free and easy to access by all stakeholders, especially those living in Africa. Our publishers, Ubiquity Press, have some of the lowest article processing charges (APCs) in academic publishing – a fraction of those charged by other publishers. Whilst maintaining high quality output, these low costs for authors, funders and universities, mean that library and research budgets can go further.

Topics that might appear on a regular basis include (but not exclusively):

• Politics and political economy
• Leadership
• Economics
• Development
• Local economies and local business sector
• Regionalism
• Foreign Direct Investment
• Employment and labour markets
• Climate change, environmental governance and natural resource management
• Democratisation and decentralisation
• Traditional politics
• Migration and urbanisation
• Conflict, statebuilding and reconstruction
• Security
• Social policy
• Land reform
• Globalisation
• International relations
• Civil-military relations, military governance
• Corruption
• Human rights, justice sector and law enforcement
• Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
• Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs)

Research articles must be between 5,000 and 8,000 words, including all notes but
not including the reference list/bibliography. Under special circumstances, articles up to 10,000 words may be accepted for publication. Research articles should present original findings based upon rigorous empirical or theoretical research.

Policy Briefs must be between 2,000 and 4,000 words, including all notes but not including the reference list/bibliography. Policy briefs should provide an account of a programme related to a governance initiative that has had either effective or ineffective impact on the ground, or that has been innovative or otherwise notable. Policy briefs should consist of an expert analysis from contributors with deep understandings of their subject. Any contributions that promote projects undertaken
by the author or their organisations in a subjective manner or in a manner inconsistent
with the aims of the journal will be rejected outright.

Commentaries should be between 1,000 and 2,000 words and should reflect upon or critique a specific "happening" such as a policy shift, release of a major study or other notable occurrence related to governance in Africa. Commentaries are particularly welcome from distinguished specialists. Authors interested in submitting a commentary piece should discuss the content with the editors before submitting a
manuscript.

Governance in Africa: Invitation to Submit

Editorial contact: christine.cubitt@reiga.org