Category: Editorial communication

Contemporary Security Policy awards the Bernard Brodie Prize annually to the author of an outstanding article published in the journal the previous year.

The award is named for Dr. Bernard Brodie (1918-1978), author of The Absolute Weapon (1946), Strategy in the Missile Age (1958) and War and Strategy (1973), establishing ideas that remain at the centre of security debates to this day. One of the first analysts to cross between official and academic environments, he pioneered the model of civilian influence that CSP represents.

It is with great pleasure to announce the shortlist of the 2016 Bernard Brodie Prize:

• Seth Baum (2015) ‘Winter-safe Deterrence: The Risk of Nuclear Winter and Its Challenge to Deterrence’, Contemporary Security Policy 36(1): 123-148.
• Richard Bitzinger (2015) ‘Defense Industries in Asia and the Technonationalist Impulse’, Contemporary Security Policy 36(3): 453-472.
• John Mitton (2015) ‘Selling Schelling Short: Reputations and American Coercive Diplomacy after Syria’, Contemporary Security Policy 36(3): 408-431.
• Niklas Nováky (2015) ‘Why so Soft? The European Union in Ukraine’, Contemporary Security Policy 36(2): 244-266.
• Patricia Shamai (2015) ‘Name and Shame: Unravelling the Stigmatization of Weapons of Mass Destruction’, Contemporary Security Policy 36(1): 104-122.

The shortlist has been put together by outgoing editors Aaron Karp and Regina Karp and the new editor Hylke Dijkstra. The Bernard Brodie Prize will be awarded by a jury from the CSP editorial board. All the articles on the shortlist for the 2016 Bernard Brodie Prize are freely available here.

Contemporary Security Policy is seeking proposals for a special issue to be published in 2017. The special issue should address a topic within the aims and scope of the journal.

One of the oldest peer reviewed journals in international conflict and security, CSP promotes theoretically-based research on policy problems of armed conflict, intervention and conflict resolution. Since it first appeared in 1980, CSP has established its unique place as a meeting ground for research at the nexus of theory and policy. Major fields of concern include:

• War and armed conflict
• Peacekeeping
• Conflict resolution
• Arms control and disarmament
• Defense policy
• Strategic culture
• International institutions

CSP is committed to a broad range of intellectual perspectives. Articles promote new analytical approaches, iconoclastic interpretations and previously overlooked perspectives. Its pages encourage novel contributions and outlooks, not particular methodologies or policy goals. Its geographical scope is worldwide and includes security challenges in Europe, Africa, the Middle-East and Asia. Authors are encouraged to examine established priorities in innovative ways and to apply traditional methods to new problems.

Special Issue Proposals

Special issue proposals should contain (in one PDF document):

• A short discussion of the rationale and contribution of the special issue (3 pages max). Please also state why the topic falls within the aims and scope of the journal and why the proposal would be of interest to a large audience.
• Contact details, institutional affiliation, one paragraph biography of the special issue co-editors, and three recent publications of each of the co-editors. Feel free to include a link to the personal website of the co-editors. Do not submit full CVs.
• A list of confirmed articles and authors. Please include for each article (a) the title; (b) 150 word abstract; (c) a very short statement how the article contributes to the special issue and why it needs to be included; (d) a one paragraph author biography; and (e) three recent publications of the author(s).
• The current state of the special issue. Please describe the background (e.g. previous workshops and conferences) and the timeframe towards the submission deadline.

The special issue will consist of a substantive introduction and 6-8 articles. The introduction should stand on itself. It should serve as a state-of-the-art article and be a reference point for all the other articles in the special issue. It is recommended that special issue proposals include at least 8-9 articles. All articles will be sent by the journal for peer-review on an individual basis. It is unlikely that all articles will eventually make the cut.

Most articles in CSP are around 7,000-8,000 words (including notes and references). However, manuscripts up to 11,000 words are accepted, for example when they include multiple case studies or use mixed methods. Total word limits will be discussed in case of acceptance.

Please submit your application (one PDF file) to csp@nullmaastrichtuniversity.nl. The deadline for the special issue proposal is 15 May 2016. The decision will be announced soon afterwards. The decision by the editor is final. All articles, including the introduction, will have to be submitted by 1 December 2016.

Contemporary Security Policy will use Editorial Manager from now onward for all submissions to the journal. Editorial Manager is an online system that allows authors to submit their manuscripts online. They can also find the status of their manuscripts. Editorial Manager will also be used to commission reviews on submitted manuscript. As such all the relevant documents will be hosted online and in one place. Editorial Manager will ensure an efficient submission process and guarantee that nothing gets lost.

While Editorial Manager will improve the quality of the submission and review process, Contemporary Security Policy seeks to maintain the personal relationship with both authors and reviewers.

Dr Hylke Dijkstra has recently been appointed as the new Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary Security Policy. For the occasion of the conference of the International Studies Association (ISA) in Atalanta in March 2016, he has selected his favorite articles, which will be available through Free Access until the end of March.

“One of the oldest peer reviewed journals in international conflict and security, Contemporary Security Policy promotes theoretically-based research on policy problems of armed violence, intervention and conflict resolution. It is about to publish its 37th volume, which makes it a slightly daunting exercise to select the top-10 out of the hundreds of published articles.

We live in an age where our academic work gets ranked all the time. Contemporary Security Policy, for example, awards the annual The Bernard Brodie Prize for the best article of the previous year. There are also statistics on the most-read and most-cited articles of the journal. In many ways such rankings are much more authoritative than my own personal selection could ever be. These rankings are, however, also about past successes.

Rather than looking for the best possible articles in the archive, I have selected 10 articles on the basis one sole criterium. I have selected the type of articles that I would love to see back in future issues of Contemporary Security Policy. These articles address key contemporary challenges. Not only in the US or Europe, but worldwide. They are relevant and accessible for a large audience. They make academic and policy contributions. And they challenge conventional wisdom.”

Hylke Dijkstra is the new Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary Security Policy. Please access his favorite articles here.

Following my appointment as the Editor-in-Chief of Contemporary Security Policy, I have made a number of changes to the Editorial Board.

First of all, Stuart Croft will step down from the Board. He was the co-editor of Contemporary Security Policy from 1991-2004 and has served on the Editorial Board ever since. He is now taking up the position of Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick. While this is naturally a great loss for the journal, I would like to thank him for his tremendous contribution to the journal and to wish him all the best in his new position.

It is also time to welcome new colleagues. To guarantee the continuity of the journal, I have asked the outgoing editors Aaron and Regina Karp to continue to serve on the Editorial Board. They have kindly agreed. This will not only prove helpful during the transition. I am glad that their insight will remain available for the journal. Furthermore, to reflect the development of the journal in terms of its aims and scope, I have invited eight new colleagues to join the Editorial Board. These are highly qualified scholars, from a variety of countries, who bring along exciting new expertise. Many of them are from the new generation; all of them share a commitment to high quality publishing in peer-reviewed journals. They are also dedicated in terms of policy impact and outreach.

The new colleagues on the Editorial Board are:

• Malte Brosig (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa)
• Toni Haastrup (University of Kent, UK)
• John Karlsrud (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Norway)
• Aaron Karp (Old Dominion University, US)
• Regina Karp (Old Dominion University, US)
• Sarah Kreps (Cornell University, US)
• Nicola Leveringhaus (University of Sheffield, UK)
• Maria Mälksoo (University of Tartu, Estonia)
• Annemarie Peen Rodt (Royal Danish Defence College, Denmark)
• Michael E. Smith (University of Aberdeen, UK)

The Editorial Board will continue to be updated in the future to reflect the aims and scope of the journal as well as developments in the academic discipline.

Hylke Dijkstra

Dr. Hylke Dijkstra has been appointed as the new editor-in-chief of Contemporary Security Policy published by Taylor and Francis. This academic journal promotes theoretically-based research on policy problems of armed violence, peace building and conflict resolution. The aim is to bring academics and policy-makers closer together by addressing the key security challenges of the day.

One of the oldest peer-reviewed journals in international conflict and security, Contemporary Security Policy is positioned at the nexus of proof and policy. Since it first appeared in 1980, the journal has established a unique place in the international relations discipline by bridging the gap between academic and policy approaches. It offers policy analysts an outlet to pursue fundamental issues and academic writers a venue for addressing policy.

Hylke Dijkstra states that “Contemporary Security Policy is a renowned journal in international security. It is about to publish its 37^th volume. Among its authors have been world-leading scholars such as Kenneth Waltz, Barry Buzan and Ernst B. Haas. Having been entrusted with the leadership of this journal is a major honour as well as responsibility. The two outgoing editors, Aaron and Regina Karp, have made a significant effort in improving the quality of the journal. I would like to thank them and I hope to continue their good work in the direction they have set out.”

Contemporary Security Policy has included articles on topics of arms control, strategic culture, NATO and EU security. Hylke Dijkstra notes that “this focus is certainly something that will be continued. However, the scope of the journal will be expanded to include contemporary security challenges worldwide. I expect the journal to also publish quality articles on, for example, the ongoing threat of ISIL, peacekeeping in Africa and the territorial disputes in the South and East China seas.”

Hylke Dijkstra is an Assistant Professor (with tenure) at the Department of Political Science of Maastricht University, The Netherlands. He has widely published on how international organisations address contemporary security challenges. He is the author of “International Organizations and Military Affairs” (Routledge, 2016) and “Policy-Making in EU Security and Defense” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013).