What Editors Look for in African Affairs Submissions | Jonathan Fisher

Описание: Today, it is a real pleasure to speak with Professor Jonathan Fisher, co-editor of African Affairs — one of the leading journals in the field of African Studies. African Affairs is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the London-based Royal African Society.

It was established as the Journal of the African Society in 1901, then it was published as the Journal of the Royal African Society from 1936 until it obtained its current name in 1944.

The journal is broadly interdisciplinary, with a primary focus on the politics and international relations of sub-Saharan Africa, though it also draws on sociology, anthropology, economics, history, literature, and the arts where these illuminate debates on contemporary Africa.

Journal's homepage: https://academic.oup.com/afraf
Editorial Board: https://academic.oup.com/afraf/pages/...

Co-Editors
George M. Bob-Milliar
Jonathan Fisher
Amanda Lea Robinson
Gabrielle Lynch

Impact Factor: 2.2 / 5-Year Impact Factor: 2.7
Indexed: Scopus / Web of Science

Content
00:00 – Introduction
01:41 – The Journal’s Evolving Mission and Research Identity
08:00 – Balancing Intellectual Coherence with Disciplinary Diversity
11:19 – The Place of Empirical and Theoretical Research in Submissions
13:03 – Emerging Trends in Manuscripts and Desired Research Directions
16:27 – Underexplored Regions and Research Gaps across Africa
18:40 – Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed-Methods Approaches in Publication
24:04 – The Most Frequent Mistakes in Article Submissions
25:49 – Common Pitfalls for Early-Career Researchers
27:26 – Structural and Technical Weaknesses in Academic Articles
29:00 – The Impact of AI on Editorial and Peer-Review Processes
31:30 – Editorial Reforms and the Journal’s Growing Academic Standing
33:46 – The Role and Significance of the Editorial Board
37:14 – Supporting Marginalised and Underrepresented Scholars
40:37 – Contributions from Latin America, Asia, and China
41:57 – Does the Journal Encourage Authors to Suggest Reviewers?
42:43 – Future Vision, Priorities, and Strategic Goals of the Journal

Jonathan Fisher is Professor of Global Security at the University of Birmingham where he also serves as Deputy Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer for the College of Social Sciences.

Profile: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/pr...

His research centres on the role of ideas and legitimacy within authoritarian systems, with extensive fieldwork across eastern Africa, where his work has examined how guerrilla heritage shapes contemporary governance, conflict, and cooperation, as well as the growing phenomenon of digital authoritarianism.


About the Host:
Martin Zubko, creator and host of 'The IR thinker', is passionate about exploring global issues in international relations through in-depth discussions with leading experts.

Follow & Further Resources
Substack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/
LinkedIn:   / ir-thinker  
X: https://x.com/irthinker_
Instagram:   / theirthinker  
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker...
Facebook:   / irthinkerfb  


Listen on
Apple Podcasts
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/2wQ4...

Amazon Music
https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/a...

DISCLAIMER
At ‘The IR thinker’, we foster respectful and inclusive discussion. We do not permit hate speech, discrimination (including racism, antisemitism, sexism, homophobia or xenophobia), personal attacks or harassment in comments. Opinions expressed by guests, contributors and commenters are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of ‘The IR thinker’ or of its host, Martin Zubko. We welcome constructive feedback to improve our content. Comments that violate these guidelines may be removed and users may be banned. All content is provided for general information only, does not constitute professional advice, and remains the intellectual property of ‘The IR thinker’.

#AfricanAffairs #AfricanStudies #AfricanPolitics #IRTheory #AcademicPublishing