JPR publishes annual special issues on topics of high relevance to the field of peace research and is now soliciting proposals for the 2028 Special Issue.

We welcome proposals that significantly advance the research frontier of peace and conflict studies. Proposals may address any topic within the broader scope of the journal, provided they make a clear contribution to the study of peace and conflict, engage relevant scholarly debates, and demonstrate strong theoretical, methodological, and empirical promise.

This year, the selection process will take place in two stages:

Stage 1: Short proposals

Prospective Guest Editors are invited to submit an initial proposal of no more than three pages, excluding references. The short proposal should outline the general idea of the Special Issue and introduce the proposed set of contributors.  The short proposal should include:

1. Title
2. Guest editor(s)’ biographical sketch(es)
3. Introduction/rationale, briefly situating the proposed issue within relevant scholarly debates and explaining its expected contribution to peace and conflict research
4. Proposed contributors and article themes, including names, affiliations, tentative article titles or article topics, and the current status of contributor commitments
5. Brief note on the composition of the proposed Special Issue, including gender, seniority, disciplinary, methodological, and geographical balance
6. References, where relevant

The deadline for submitting short proposals is 30 September 2026. Inquiries and first-stage proposals should be sent by email to the JPR Editorial Office at jpr@prio.

The Editorial Committee will review the submitted proposals and invite three shortlisted teams to prepare full proposals. Shortlisted teams will be notified by the end of October 2026.

The main criteria in the first-stage selection are scholarly quality, relevance to the journal’s scope, expected contribution to the field, coherence of the proposed Special Issue, and the strength and diversity of the prospective contributor group.

Stage 2: Full proposals

Shortlisted teams will be invited to submit a full proposal. The full proposal should develop the intellectual rationale of the Special Issue in greater detail and include a more complete overview of the proposed articles and contributors.  Full proposals should contain:

1. Title
2. Guest editor(s)’ biographical sketch(es)
3. Introduction/rationale, situating the proposed issue within the literature and explaining its contribution to peace and conflict research
4. Article abstracts and contributors, including at least 12 candidate article abstracts of 200–300 words each, with names, affiliations, and titles of all confirmed authors and co-authors
5. Outreach/dissemination plan
6. Note on gender, seniority, disciplinary, methodological, and geographical balance
7. References

The deadline for full proposals is 15 December 2026. The final decision will be communicated by 15 January 2027.

Selection of a full Special Issue proposal does not imply acceptance of any individual article. After acceptance of the Special Issue proposal, all candidate articles submitted for the Special Issue will be subject to JPR’s ordinary editorial standards and peer-review procedures. Peer review will be accelerated where possible, but all submitted manuscripts must meet the journal’s standards for theoretical engagement, methodological rigor, relevance to peace and conflict studies, research transparency, and ethical conduct. Manuscripts that do not meet acceptable standards may be rejected as part of the journal’s regular procedures.

Inquiries and first-stage proposals should be sent by email to the JPR Editorial Office at jpr@prio.org by 30 September 2026.

Tentative schedule for the 2028 Special Issue

Date	Deadline
30 September 2026	Deadline for short proposals
End of October 2026	Three shortlisted teams invited to submit full proposals
15 December 2026	Deadline for full proposals
15 January 2027	Final Special Issue proposal selected
1 May 2027	Deadline for initial submission of all manuscripts
15 August 2027	First-round decisions due; decisions sent to authors for revisions
15 October 2027	Resubmission deadline
1 December 2027	Second-round decisions due; papers back with authors for further revisions where needed
5 January 2028	Final resubmission deadline
15 February 2028	Final decisions and requests for minor/technical revisions
15 March 2028	Deadline for exporting articles to the publisher; followed by typesetting/proofs
May 2028	Publication in Issue 3/2028

Please note: Articles that are ready sufficiently ahead of the schedule will be published OnlineFirst until the issue is released. The exact details of the timeline will be agreed upon with the Special Issue guest editors.

FAQs

Is there a maximum number of articles?  While there is no strict maximum, previous JPR Special Issues have typically included around 12–20 articles. Please keep in mind that all submissions will undergo peer review and that some manuscripts may be rejected during that process.

Is JPR open to a Special Issue proposal with a regional focus?  Yes. JPR is open to Special Issue proposals with a regional focus, provided the proposal falls within the broader scope of the journal and speaks to debates of wider relevance in peace and conflict research.

What article types can be included in a proposal?  Most Special Issues include regular research articles and Special Data Features. JPR is also open to including Research Notes and/or Review Articles if there is a clear rationale for doing so. Guest Editors will typically write an introduction to the Special Issue at a later stage, closer to publication, once most submissions have completed peer review.

Does being shortlisted guarantee that a Special Issue will be selected?  No. Shortlisting means that the team is invited to prepare a full proposal. The final decision will be made after the full proposals have been reviewed.

Does acceptance of the Special Issue proposal guarantee publication of the proposed articles?  No. All manuscripts must be submitted through the journal’s ordinary submission system and will be evaluated according to JPR’s regular editorial and peer-review standards.