Author Guidelines

African Political Sociology accepts manuscripts that are prepared for formal editorial handling and peer review. Before starting a submission, authors should confirm that the work is within the journal's scope, that the manuscript is written in clear UK English, and that all authors approve the submitted version.

Before You Submit

Authors should evaluate fit carefully. This journal prioritises manuscripts in the social sciences and policy-relevant scholarship and expects a visible connection to Political Sociology. Papers that are too generic, poorly referenced, or only loosely connected to the stated field are likely to be returned at editorial screening.

• Submit work that clearly contributes to Political, Sociology.
• Ensure the abstract accurately summarises the question, approach, and main contribution.
• Confirm that tables, figures, equations, and appendices are cited correctly in the manuscript.
• Check that institutional affiliations, ORCID identifiers where available, and contact details are accurate.

Preparing the Manuscript

Manuscripts should normally contain a title, author details, abstract, keywords, main text, acknowledgements where relevant, declarations, and references. Depending on study type, authors may also need appendices, supplementary files, data notes, figure legends, or protocol material. For this journal, preferred reporting practice includes policy analysis, case comparison, thematic synthesis, and context-aware interpretation of evidence.

Authors should use section headings that suit the type of work submitted. Original empirical studies should present a clear research problem, methods, findings, and discussion. Review or conceptual papers should explain the logic of selection, synthesis, or argumentation rather than relying on broad descriptive summary.

Evidence and Ethics

Every manuscript must include the declarations relevant to its design and content. These may include ethics approval, participant consent, animal care statements, funding acknowledgement, conflicts of interest, author-contribution notes, and data or code availability. The journal expects clear research questions, defensible methods, transparent positionality where relevant, and grounded interpretation.

Where the manuscript involves sensitive data, restricted datasets, or institutional permissions, the submission should explain the constraint and describe what can still be shared for verification or scholarly reuse.

After Submission

After submission, the editorial office undertakes initial checks before deciding whether the manuscript proceeds to peer review, revision, or desk rejection. Authors should expect an initial editorial response within approximately 32 days for a routine submission, although timing varies with reviewer availability and manuscript complexity.

If revisions are requested, authors are normally expected to respond within 11 days unless a different schedule is communicated. Revised submissions should be accompanied by a point-by-point response that explains how each editorial or reviewer concern has been addressed.