Important Notices
When it comes to publishing your papers, we’re a stickler for following guidelines. So, be sure to read the submission guidelines below before you submit an article to us.
Strategy: Military Strategy Magazine (MSM) is a Strategy publication, so articles must be about the threat or use made of violence for political objectives. We are not an international relations or foreign policy publication. We strongly recommend that you read the MSM Brief “What is Strategy” to understand how Military Strategy Magazine views strategy.
Deadlines: Rolling submissions, with articles being selected for specific Issues.
Peer-Review Process: All articles submitted to Military Strategy Magazine undergo both a rigorous internal review process, and an external, double blind review. The external review is conducted by a minimum of two external reviewers, though three or more reviewers are utilized in certain cases.
In the case of a ‘split verdict’: if an article receives a split decision resulting from the two external reviewers – one with a verdict of ‘publish’ and another with the verdict of ‘reject’ – one of two options will be undertaken. The first, if deemed necessary, will be to utilize a third external reviewer. If a third reviewer is deemed unnecessary, the choice will be left to the editor of the magazine, who will receive counsel from other internal leaders of Military Strategy Magazine. For the purposes of full transparency, the editor, or another internal leader, will inform the author of how we will choose to proceed: whether we will use a third external reviewer or whether a decision to publish or reject an article will be made internally.
Microsoft Word documents only: please submit articles only in MS Word files.
You may submit articles to the Publisher or the Editor of Military Strategy Magazine See below for more details.
Your article may not be published in another publication unless you receive our written consent.
Please do not submit dissertations/theses unless they have been properly reworked to fit MSM’s article framework. This includes focusing on strategy (the ethos of the publication) as well as style (e.g. accessible language) and word count (3,000 maximum, not including endnotes).
Proposals: You may submit a very short and concise proposal before writing your piece, so as to ensure the topic is suitable for the publication.
Length of articles: all articles are to be 3,000 words or less (we do not count endnotes towards the word maximum). However, it is the sole decision of Military Strategy Magazine‘s Publisher and Editor to decide if a longer piece will be published. This is rare and only occurs under very specific circumstances. We do not publish bibliographies, so ensure that your citations are complete.
Citation format: the citation format is left to the discretion of the author, so long as all authors use an established and recognized system.
If you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to contact us at any time. State your query in simple, clear language. We will respond as quickly as possible.
Articles
What we want
- Articles submitted in Microsoft Word format only
- Articles containing no more than 3,000 words (not including endnotes)
- Articles in English
- Articles on Strategy specifically – and in relation to – Policy, Tactics and Operations
- Articles on Strategic History, but not Military History
- Articles using endnotes must use a recognized system. Articles do not have to contain citations unless necessary (e.g. quotes, stats). We do not publish bibliographies.
- Articles that use evidence and empirical observation over opinion
- Articles that are well written, structured, intelligent and even provocative or witty, without being simplistic, vacuous, slanderous or rude
- Articles re-butting or countering the ideas of previously published articles in MSM are welcome.
NOTE: Please keep rigid language and complexity to a minimum, and comprehensible language and simplicity to a maximum. Our goal is to get your work read by the widest possible audience.
What we do not want
- No articles that exceed 3,000 words, unless granted permission from Military Strategy Magazine (endnotes are not counted as part of the maximum word count).
- No articles that seek to predict the future. No political or strategic prognosticating or foreign policy predictions
- No articles on military training, organization, capability or technology
- No articles representing political opinion
- No articles that are exclusively on tactics and/or operations
- We prefer that articles do not exclusively seek to analyze or comment on a specific nation’s foreign policy, unless it is in the wider context of Strategic History. Exceptions may be made, so contact us if you have any questions. MSM is not an International Relations journal – it is a rigorously peer-reviewed publication on strategy.
Article and Submission Details
It is best if your question/argument will be in your title. Keep it short and succinct.
- E.g. “Are Targeted Killings Policy, Strategy, or Tactics?”
- E.g. “The Strategy, or lack thereof, of Peacekeeping Operations.”
- E.g. “Winning Hearts and Minds: Strategy or Myth?”
Articles are to be submitted electronically to the Publisher: info [at] theijgroup [dot] com or info [at] militarystrategymagazine [dot]. Please include 2 copies, one with a cover sheet and one without for the external double-blind, peer-review process.
Cover sheet: Your cover sheet should include your name, title, date of submission, and your email address.
Please refrain from inquiring about the status of your article – we will work hard to inform you of the verdict at the earliest possible time.
If you have any questions, concerns, comments or suggestions, you may contact us at any time.