The International Society of Political Psychology invites proposals for the editorship of its journal Political Psychology. A successful strategy in the past has been that the editorship has comprised a team with expertise across a number of sub-fields relevant to the society and journal. Proposals for editorship that include an editorial team are considered by the Society to be highly desirable. Over the last five years Political Psychology has ranked among the top 20 journals in political science and social psychology. The journal has achieved this high standard while being genuninely interdisciplinary and embracing the diversity of topics and research methodologies that comprise the field of political psychology. The journal is the flagship for political psychology across the globe and is international in scope and relevance. This broader context and the commitment of the Society to foster significant contribution to knowledge, innovation and debate in political psychology and cognate fields means the journal is well placed to grow its impact. Members of the Society who share these ambitions and are interested in leading an expert editorial team are invited to submit a proposal. Attached to this letter is a factsheet with information about the journal and the required format of proposals. Preliminary proposals are requested at the latest January 10, 2014. Additional information about the journal and the International Society of Political Psychology can be obtained from the Chair of the Publications Committee Prof. Bert Klandermans (p.g.klandermans@vu.nl) and/or the Executive Director of the Society, Sev Bennett (sbennett@ispp.org). Sincerely Bert Klandermans
About the Journal Political Psychology (ISSN 0I62-895X) is an international interdisciplinary journal dedicated to the analysis of the interrelationships between psychological and political processes. It is currently published six times annually. Until January 31, 2015 the journal is housed at the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at IDC-Herzliya, Israel. The journal is under the ownership of the International Society of Political Psychology (hereafter ISPP), which has its Central Office in Columbus, NC. The journal publishes papers at the intersection of psychology and political science that employ, a variety of methods including experimental, correlational, observational, and textual analysis. Published papers include both large-n and small-n studies as appropriate to the question being addressed. Most recently, roughly 36% of submitted manuscripts were from political science, 38% were from psychology, and the remainder came from multiple other disciplines. The large majority of psychology submissions relate to social psychology, while within the political science submissions the focus is on political behavior and international relations areas. Manuscripts must address questions at the intersection of psychology and political science. Papers speaking wholly or mostly to only one discipline are not appropriate for this interdisciplinary journal. Methodologically the journal is pluralistic, accepting papers that use a wide range of methods. The international scope of the journal is evidenced in the worldwide nature of submissions. While 44% come from the United States, the remainder comes from throughout the rest of the world, including Asia and Africa. In addition to substantive scholarly articles, Political Psychology publishes bibliographic essays, book reviews, analysis and commentary on important issues in the field in the Forum section,, and contains a News and Notes section. Over the last five years Political Psychology was ranked on average in the top 20 journals in Political Science and Social Psychology. Its average impact factor over the last five years is 1.517. From July 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, the journal received 426 submissions, including 312 new submissions. A total of 452 manuscript decisions were rendered during this period. The mean handling time from submission to the first decision letter for new submissions is roughly 67 days at present; 64 days for resubmissions. In an effort to relieve pressure on reviewers, about 20% of manuscripts were rejected without review mainly due to being inappropriate or of insufficient quality for the journal. Advances in Political Psychology an annual collection of review articles serves as a supplement to the journal and is under separate editorship.
The editorial team The ideal editorial team would include editors with expertise in some combination of the following subfields: intergroup relations, attitude and persuasion research, political discourse, political ideology, political decision making, political identities, collective action directed at social change, voting and political participation, politics and morality, personality and politics, foreign policy decision making, and the psychology of political violence. We encourage submissions from teams with members in different locations, including different parts of the world to reflect the international nature of ISPP and Political Psychology. An editorial term lasts five years. We encourage proposals that include cost sharing with a home institution. Likely costs include the costs of office space and facilities, the cost of editorial assistants, possible teaching reduction, and travel to the ISPP annual conference and the governing council midwinter meeting for some members of the editorial team. ISPP will also look favorably on proposals which make every effort to curtail costs and run the editorial office as efficiently as possible. The proposal should include a detailed budget and letters of financial support from the home institution. All prospective editors are encouraged to contact Sev Bennett for details on current journal operations.
Annex Responsibilities vis à vis the ISPP: Draft and seek approval of the Governing Council of a budget for the duration of the term Attend Governing Council meetings Work with the Central Office and the Executive Director on updates to the journal s web page Direct Editing Responsibilities: The editor is expected to undertake the following editorial activities: Assemble an editorial team, including editorial assistants as needed Appoint an Editorial Board that reflects the geographic and disciplinary diversity of topics addressed in the journal and the ISPP membership. Work with the Manuscript Central team to improve and manage the electronic manuscript handling system. Process manuscripts. Forward articles for copy editing and posting on Early View to Wiley as they are accepted. Ongoing Activities with the Publisher: The editors are expected to work with the publisher, Wiley Blackwell, in a number of different ways to ensure the journal s continued success. These activities include the following: 1. Work closely with the publisher, Wiley Blackwell on a marketing plan and strategies, including how to reach specific geographic areas and disciplinary subfields to be identified in a market analysis plan developed jointly with the publisher. 2. Attend an annual strategy meeting with the publisher. 3. Prepare semi-annual journal reports to be presented at the annual and mid-winter meetings of the ISPP Governing Council. 4. Maintain regular communication between the publisher, journal editors, and the ISPP. 5. Identify articles for possible PR/publicity purposes. 6. Work with the publisher to improve the journal s impact factor rating. 7. Work with the publisher on ways to improve the review process. For example, by identifying regular reviewers to invite to a reception hosted by Wiley and held at the annual conference, or develop other ideas on how to compensate reviewers. 8. Outline methods to enhance journal content online possibly through podcasts, additional material from authors, etc. 9. Outline plans to assist ISPP in planning for the future by sharing information about trends in academic journal publishing, such as the move towards sole online journal publication, possible future revenue streams, etc. 10. Describe the proposed software system for journal management along with information about the existence, costs, and access to the publisher s electronic journal management system (if it exists). 11. Describe any novel ideas you may have related to journal expansion or reorganization.
Proposal Format Mission statement Objectives Composition of the editorial team (CV s, expertise, experience in editorial matters) Institutional support Draft budget (Sev Bennett our Executive Director can assist and provide budget information and information on the financial situation of the journal)