Skip to navigation – Site map

HomeAbout the JournalGuidelines for AuthorsGuidelines for Authors in Brief

Guidelines for Authors in Brief

Abstract

These Guidelines for Authors in Brief provide an overview of International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement and editorial guidelines for contributing authors.

Please read both these Guidelines in Brief and the Detailed Technical Guidelines sections carefully and prepare your contribution accordingly. Submissions that do not conform to the guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for revision.

The journal is committed to a high standard of professional academic review and publishing. Potential contributors are also invited to read the journal’s Ethics Statement before submitting their papers.

Authors may submit articles to marie.thorndahl(@)graduateinstitute.ch.

Top of page

Editorial Line

International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement is a peer reviewed, open access journal that publishes original, interdisciplinary, policy-relevant papers in the field of international cooperation and development. Anchored in Geneva at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, it publishes contributions by researchers and reflective practitioners worldwide.

The journal publishes:

- Thematic issues on key development policy challenges; and

- Stand-alone articles analysing topics related to international development and cooperation.

Open Access Policy

Original contents and translations are published on the OpenEdition Journals platform for humanities and social sciences under the Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported - CC BY-NC 3.0.

Our journal is part of the Freemium programme: Contents are available to all Internet users in open access HTML format, while users of partner institutions can download the PDF and ePub formats. No DRM or download quotas are applied.

Audience and Outreach

Our target audience includes scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in international development.

In 2022, the journal website received more than 1,600 unique visitors/day (615,000 visitors/year in 2022). The readership is global, with approximately 26% from OECD countries, 40% from Africa, 17% from Asia and 16% from South and Central America (2022).

In addition to online and print publications, the journal organises and participates in public, online, and closed-door events where authors and experts discuss articles and the policy issues at stake, engaging with a broader audience via webcasts available online. Visit our parent website: http://debate.devpol.org.

Submission of Articles and Peer Review Criteria

International Development Policy welcomes unsolicited manuscripts that conform to our guidelines. Authors are invited to submit articles to: devpol (@) graduateinstitute.ch.

Articles are accepted and peer reviewed on the basis of the following criteria:

- Originality and contribution to existing research in international development: The article makes a scholarly contribution to existing research and/or policy practice (filling a gap in the literature and/or offering an original view or approach to the research question(s) addressed).

- Scientific quality: Research results and conclusions are supported by solid qualitative/quantitative analysis and methodological rigour; referencing is adequate; data (and tables and figures used) are adequate; and research ethics are respected. Articles that discuss organisations, projects, or programmes do so in an analytic manner, without the intention of self-promotion.

- Clarity of argument and presentation: The writing is engaging, clear and accessible to non-experts. The ideas and structure of the manuscript are clear and logical. The English used is of a high standard.

Moreover, priority will be given to articles that meet the following criteria:

- Policy relevance: The paper addresses development policy debates and challenges. The link between the topic addressed and development policy is meaningful and implications for policy and practice are clear.

- Audience: The article would be of interest not only to scholars/academics, but also to policymakers, practitioners, and/or policy analysts interested in or working on the topic or in international development.

By submitting a piece to International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement, authors acknowledge that the work is original, has not been previously published, and is not under review for publication elsewhere. In submitting an article to the journal, authors assume full responsibility for ensuring the absence of plagiarism and that the work does not infringe on the rights of other parties.

Please refer to the Ethics Statement of the journal for author responsibilities.

Preliminary Material and References

Please submit the article in MS Word format. The text must include:

- A brief bionote for all authors of max. 150 words (author’s affiliation, expertise areas) and the e-mail address of the corresponding author, who will serve as the contact throughout the editorial process;

- An abstract of approx. 400 words. Clearly written to convey the salient features of the paper, the abstract should clarify the motivation for the article, the research question(s) being addressed and the key finding(s).

- 47 keywords; authors are encouraged to select from the keywords provided on the journal’s website.

- Conflict of interest and funding. Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest that might influence their results or their interpretations presented in the submitted manuscript. Eventual funding sources are listed.

- The list of references and any accompanying artwork, figures, or tables, set out according to International Development Policy’s Detailed Technical Guidelines.

Language and Length

International Development Policy publishes all papers in English. For authors writing in English, please note that the journal uses British English spelling.

The journal also accepts original submissions in French, Spanish and potentially in other languages. If they are accepted after the peer reviewing process, these articles are translated into English and published online along with the original version. Authors are invited to review and validate the English translation of their articles.

Articles should range between 5,000 and 7,000 words excluding references and figures. A submission exceeding the recommended length will be returned to the author(s) for revision. The author(s) must deliver the text in Times New Roman 11 pt (without any formatting); with titles and subtitles (short and informative titles, and no more than two subtitle levels); and with footnotes (kept to a minimum).

Graphic Art, Figures, and Tables

Graphic art, figures, and tables must be of perfect quality. If they are not free from copyright, authors must prove that they have acquired the reproduction rights (see the Technical Guidelines for a sample text with which to request copyright clearance via e-mail or letter).

Authors must provide separate files for: 1) data used to create figures and tables (in an MS Excel/.xls file); and 2) photography and other graphic art, with a resolution of at least 300 dpi.

References

Author will follow the (author-date system) for bibliographic references, for example:

- for a monograph: Gary, I. and T.L. Karl (2003) Bottom of the Barrel: Africa’s Oil Boom and the Poor (Baltimore: Catholic Relief Services).

- for a book chapter: Schweickert, R. (1998) ‘The Nominal Anchor Approach to Stabilisation: Lessons from Argentina’, in C. Auroi (ed.) Latin American and East European Economies in Transition: A Comparative Review, EADI Book Series No. 21 (London: Frank Cass), pp. 44–60.

- for an article in a journal: Whitehead, A. and D. Tsikata (2003) ‘Policy Discourses on Women’s Land Rights in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Implications of the Re-Turn to the Customary, Journal of Agrarian Change, 3(1–2), pp. 67–112, DOI: 10.1111/1471-0366.00051

- for an electronic reference: World Bank (2004) Doing Business 2005: Removing Obstacles to Growth (Washington, D.C.: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development–World Bank), http://www.doingbusiness.org/~/media/FPDKM/Doing%20Business/Documents/Annual-Reports/English/DB05-FullReport.pdf (accessed on 14 April 2015).

Details and examples can be found in the Technical Guidelines. Please also note that the journal has created a customized Zotero citation style, which authors can find at https://www.zotero.org/styles?q=international%20development%20policy, as well as an inhouse dictionary for our editors to maintain overall consistency, which you are also welcome to consult.

Person to Contact

Remarks and questions are welcome. Person to contact: Marie Thorndahl, Editorial Manager, International Development Policy | Revue internationale de politique de développement | marie.thorndahl (@) graduateinstitute.ch

Last update: 23 august 2023.

Attachments

Top of page
Search OpenEdition Search

You will be redirected to OpenEdition Search