Editorial and Publication Policies
American Diplomacy is an Internet-based professional journal focused on the general subject indicated by its title. We publish articles of commentary and analysis, feature stories, Foreign Service memoirs, scholarly research of general interest, reviews of books and Internet articles, comments from readers, and announcements. Our target audience includes foreign affairs professionals, active and retired; scholars, educators and students; and others interested in foreign policy and the practice of diplomacy. Articles are peer reviewed by two or more foreign affairs professionals or scholars in the relevant field.
Most of our readers are Americans, but we also have numerous readers in other countries. We sometimes publish articles in Spanish and French, along with English translations.
American Diplomacy was launched in 1996. It is published online by American Diplomacy Publishers (a tax-exempt nonprofit corporation), with the cooperation of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies and the Curriculum in Peace, War & Defense Studies, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Statement on Nonpartisanship
American Diplomacy and its parent organization, American Diplomacy Publishers, maintain a nonpartisan stance with regard to U.S. politics and do not adopt any “official” or “corporate” positions. Moreover, we seek to maintain balance in addressing controversial issues, and we avoid material containing extremist views, intemperate language, or personal attacks.
These things being said, our authors often express strong opinions and reflect a wide variety of political views, from left to right, as well as foreign policy intellectual traditions, from realist to idealist. We do not, however, consciously feature one set of opinions or positions over another.
Submissions
We welcome all submissions and will acknowledge and consider them promptly. They should be sent via e-mail (to editor@americandiplomacy.org) as an attachment in Microsoft Word, or, if short, in the body of the e-mail message. Printed submissions are also acceptable, provided they contain no corrections or insertions that would inhibit electronic scanning. They may be mailed to P.O. Box 5084, Chapel Hill, NC 27514-5001. Book reviews and Internet article reviews may be submitted directly to the editors of those sections.
Research-based scholarly articles may range up to 10,000 words, but most commentary and analysis articles, feature stories, and memoirs should not exceed 5000 words. Book reviews should be no more than 2000 words, and Internet article reviews should not exceed 500 words. We will also consider for publication brief announcements of events that are of general interest to our readers.
Extensive, detailed notes should be avoided. Footnotes are difficult to handle in our electronic format. Source citations, if necessary, may be inserted parenthetically in the text or as endnotes.
Our editorial style is based on the Chicago Manual of Style, with some variations. We also encourage adherence to the principles of Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Prospective authors may request a copy of our style manual from the editor.
Graphics
We encourage pictures and illustrations to accompany submissions. They should be submitted electronically in JPEG or GIF formats.
Evaluation
The journal’s editor makes an initial call on article submissions as to whether they merit further consideration. If deemed potentially appropriate for the journal, they are submitted for evaluation to two or more members of our Board or Editorial Review Panel, or other qualified reviewers who are knowledgeable in the field.
If judged acceptable, submissions will be edited for style, clarity, and factual accuracy. We will promptly inform authors of acceptance or rejection. In some cases, we may ask authors to make substantive revisions.
Book reviews and Internet article reviews will be evaluated and edited by the editors of those sections, who will then submit them to the journal’s editor for final approval.
Following the general practice of professional and scholarly journals, American Diplomacy does not offer payment for published material.
Posting
New material is posted on the journal's website on a continuing basis, normally weekly, as directed by the publisher. It remains featured on the masthead/index page for about three months, after which articles, book reviews and announcements are archived and Internet article reviews are deleted (since the links to the reviewed articles are usually impermanent). Archives are maintained permanently.
Previous Publication
We seek to publish primarily original works, but we will consider items that have been previously published elsewhere, provided the author obtains written permission from the original publisher.
Copyright
We expect that authors will assign copyright to American Diplomacy on their work published in the journal unless it has been previously copyrighted. We will routinely grant permission to authors for subsequent use of their material, formally transferring copyright thereto if requested.
