Policy & Politics has been publishing innovative works at the intersection of public policy and politics for over 50 years. It is a world-leading, top quartile journal that is committed to advancing scholarly understanding of the dynamics of policy-making and implementation. By exploring the interplay between political actors, governing institutions and policy issues, the journal contributes to building policy process theory; and by reflecting on the evolving context in which these interactions occur, it provides timely and fresh insights into the influence of politics on policy and vice versa.
The journal’s co-editors invite proposals for a special issue that will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the nexus of public policy and politics. The journal only has space to publish one special issue each year, so this is a competitive process.
To be successful, proposals need to offer a coherent set of excellent original research articles that will reframe or develop knowledge on a topic that is at the leading edge of current debates and is clearly relevant to the journal’s worldwide readership. Proposals may include a mixture of theoretical, conceptual and empirical cases and a range of research methods, and must demonstrate how they will make a significant and lasting contribution to the field.
Special issues of this scope generally take at least eighteen months to two years from the acceptance of a proposal through to final publication. In return, we offer constructive and clear editorial guidance throughout the development process to optimise its readership and impact. In addition, we undertake significant article-level marketing for special issues, as we publish one of the most widely read journal blogs in the discipline and have the highest X (Twitter) following of all the journals in this field as well as our more recent presence on BlueSky. Our special issues are also eligible for consideration for publication in book form in the Policy & Politics series published by Policy Press.
The timetable for evaluating proposals is set out below:
| Call for proposals open; submit to mailto:sarah.brown@bristol.ac.uk | 2nd January 2025 |
| Deadline for submitting proposals to P&P | 28th February 2025 |
| Decision on selection of one proposal announced by P&P | 10th March 2025 |
For more details on how to apply, please email our Journal Manager at sarah.brown@bristol.ac.uk
Thanks for your interest in Policy & Politics.
If you liked this blog post, you might be interested to read:
Special issue on policy learning and policy innovation: interactions and intersections (Editorial): Dunlop, C. A., Radaelli, C. M., Wayenberg, E., & Zaki, B. L. (2024). Policy learning and policy innovation: interactions and intersections. Policy & Politics, 52(4), 547-563 from https://doi.org/10.1332/03055736Y2024D000000049
Special issue on policy expertise in times of crisis:
Aagaard, P., Easton, M., & Head, B. W. (2024). Policy expertise in times of crisis. Policy & Politics, 52(1), 2-23 from https://doi.org/10.1332/03055736Y2023D000000016
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