Political Studies Association’s 'British Journal of Politics and International Relations' to be hosted in POLIS

The School has been successful in bringing the Political Studies Association’s (PSA) ‘British Journal of Politics and International Relations’ (BJPIR) to the University of Leeds from 1 August 2021.

The British Journal of Politics and International Relations (BJPIR) is an international journal that publishes innovative, cutting edge contemporary scholarship on international relations, comparative politics, public policy, political theory and (especially) politics and policy in the United Kingdom. It is the world’s premier journal for research into British politics. BJPIR is a fully refereed journal of the Political Studies Association of the UK.

The incoming editors (listed below) have stated:

“We are excited by this opportunity to build on the tremendous work of the Edinburgh editorial team and extend BJPIR’s excellent reputation. Our vision for BJPIR is to expand its potential as a journal of global reach and significance and to embed British politics in the politics of global challenges. BJPIR offers a unique convening point to address questions of international significance in which the British standpoint is a particularly interesting one (for example because of the UK’s geopolitical position or the legacy of colonialism). This is particularly the case where the UK has sought to position itself as a global leader (for example international aid, climate change, or branding of Global Britain); or where the UK offers itself as a fascinating potential case study (for example the response to COVID-19 at local, regional, national, European and international levels). Our vision aligns directly with the strategic vision of POLIS to investigate the politics of global challenges.”

“Given the structural inequalities in the academy we are committed to ensuring that BJPIR is at the forefront of driving much needed change. We are ambitious in our plans to expand the scope and readership of journal so that there is a wider community of scholars submitting to, publishing in, reading, and citing BJPIR. We will work towards ensuring that 50 percent of articles published are authored by women and improve the percentage of submissions and published articles by Early Career Researchers and authors from underrepresented minority groups. To realise these aims we will draw on the editorial team’s networks to extend the scope of the advisory board and promote active links with Global South and Asian scholars through guest editorship. We will develop special issues on topics relating to global challenges that attract greater diversity, work with the PSA to run targeted support workshops and explore approaches which proactively mitigate possible unconscious bias and other obstacles to diversity.”

In announcing the news the PSA Vice-Chair and Publications Lead, Professor Claire Dunlop commented:

“We are excited by the Leeds team’s intellectual vision for the journal and deep commitment to diversity in the academy. We know BJPIR will be in safe hands and will continue to go from strength to strength. We also extend huge thanks to the Edinburgh team led by Alan Convery for the massive contribution they have made to our community and for carrying on the work started by Alan and the late John Peterson.”

Incoming Editors:

• Emma-Louise Anderson (Associate Professor in International Development)
• Derek Edyvane (Associate Professor of Political Theory)
• Richard Hayton (Associate Professor of Politics)
• Jack Holland (Associate Professor in International Security)
• Victoria Honeyman (Associate Professor of British Politics)

Incoming Deputy Editors:

• Jocelyn Evans (Professor of Politics)
• Cristina Leston-Bandeira (Professor of Politics)

Incoming Associate Editors:

• Sahla Aroussi (Associate Professor in Global Security Challenges)
• Alex Beresford (Associate Professor in African Politics)
• Charlie Dannreuther (Lecturer in European Political Economy)
• Kingsley Edney (Lecturer in the Politics and IR of China)
• Markus Fraundorfer (Lecturer in Global Governance)
• Yoshi Kobayashi (Associate Professor in International Political Economy and Development)
• Viktoria Spaiser (Associate Professor in Sustainability Research and Computational Social Science)
• Nora Stappert (Lecturer in International Relations and International Law)
• Kerri Woods (Associate Professor of Political Theory)