The Journal of Peace Research is a leading international and interdisciplinary journal in peace research, published in collaboration between the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) and SAGE Publications.
JPR publishes annual special issues on topics of high relevance to the field of peace research and is now soliciting proposals for the 2026 special issue. We welcome issues on topics that significantly advance the research frontier of the field, with a focus on causes and consequences of violence, conflict prevention and resolution, and nonviolent action. See here for a list of past special issues.
We are interested in a wide range of topics such as, but not limited to:
- Armed group governance (e.g. how armed groups use different forms of social media)
- The importance of walls and boundaries
- Current conflicts (e.g. Ukraine, Gaza)
The deadline for submitting proposals is 15 May 2024, and the decision will be made the following month.
Proposal requirements
The proposal should contain short bios of prospective Guest Editors, an introduction about one page in length situating the proposed issue within the literature and describing its contributions, and a minimum of 10-12 candidate article abstracts (200-300 words each) including names, affiliations and titles of all (co)-authors who have confirmed their commitment to submit to the special issue.
The submission deadline for the first submission of all candidate articles will be no later than 30 October 2024. A tentative schedule is provided below.
While the main criteria in the selection of special issue proposals are quality and relevance, we will also be reviewing the gender and geographical balance of the submitted proposals.
After acceptance of the special issue proposal, all candidate articles submitted for the special issue will be subject to a peer review process which, while accelerated, will nonetheless conform to the journal’s usual standards. In other words, at least two highly qualified referees will review all candidate articles, and those not meeting acceptable standards, will be issued a rejection letter as per the usual journal’s procedures.
We ask that proposals adhere to the following template:
- Title
- Guest editor(s)’ biographical sketch(es)
- Introduction/rationale
- Article abstracts and contributors
- Outreach/dissemination plan
- Note on gender, seniority, and geographical balance
- References
Inquiries and proposals should be sent by email to the JPR Editorial Office by 15 May 2024.
Tentative schedule for the 2026 special issue
| Date | Deadline |
|---|---|
| October 30, 2024 | Latest deadline for paper submissions. |
| February 14, 2025 | First round decisions due. Papers back with authors for revisions. |
| April 25, 2025 | Resubmission deadline. |
| June 29, 2025 | Second round decisions due. |
| September 12, 2025 | Resubmission deadline. |
| September 30, 2025 | Final decisions, requests for minor/technical revisions. |
| October 24, 2025 | Deadline for exporting articles to SAGE. Followed by copy-editing/type-setting/proofs. |
| January, 2026 | Publication in issue 1/2025. |
Please note: Articles that are ready sufficiently ahead of the schedule will be published OnlineFirst until the issue is released.
