Submissions

Wed, Jan 11th 2012, 11:25AM

For Authors

The Middle East Journal (MEJ) welcomes manuscripts from various disciplines relating to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as Afghanistan and Pakistan, since 1945. Submissions should contain both original research and analysis, and are subject to a double-blind peer review process that maintains the anonymity of authors and reviewers. Research papers in the range of 7,000–8,000 words are generally preferred; and those shorter than 5,000 words or longer than 10,000 words will not be considered.

Authors should submit papers electronically to MEJ’s Submissions Desk at submissions@mei.edu. Submissions will only be considered as Microsoft Word or rich text attachments, along with an email including the paper’s title, the authors’ name and affiliation, and a 75-word abstract.

Within six weeks of submission, the MEJ editorial staff will perform a preliminary, in-house review to decide whether to consult anonymous reviewers from among the leading experts in the manuscript’s area of specialization or subfield. Due to coordination between MEJ staff and reviewers, 3–5 months should be expected before receiving back reviews from the Journal’s Editor. A decision will be reached as quickly as the review process permits, but MEJ is not responsible for delays in the decision process.

In addition to feature articles and book reviews, issues of MEJ may include Policy Essay that engages with debates in the policy community about current and ongoing developments in the region or that propose specific changes in policy. These submissions should be between 2,000 and 5,000 words. Policy papers will be subject to a shorter review process by the MEJ’s editorial staff in conjunction with The Middle East Institute. Unlike research articles, Policy Essays will be submitted on a per-issue basis and will not be considered later than two months before publication.

Manuscripts submitted for consideration by the Journal must not be submitted simultaneously to any other publication, nor may they have been previously published elsewhere including online or as a working paper, in English or any other language.

Style

Text and reference note style should conform to the The Chicago Manual of Style. All manuscripts must use footnotes rather than endnotes or in-line citations, and short citations instead of ibid. or op cit. MEJ transliterates according to the following styles, albeit without diacritical marks and and with deference to preferred usage:

Arabic: The International Journal of Middle East Studies (IJMES)
Hebrew: Academy of the Hebrew Language 2006 rules
Persian: US Board of Geographic Names (BGN)

Please address any questions regarding the submissions process to the Journal's Managing Editor (man-ed@mei.edu).

Book Reviews

Publishers who wish to have their titles considered for review should click here.