BISA journals RIS and EJIS move to format free submissions

We're pleased to have been able to implement an important change for both of our journals. As of now, both the Review of International Studies (RIS) and the European Journal of International Security (EJIS) are ‘format free’ for initial submissions. 

This means that as long as articles are submitted to RIS and EJIS in an acknowledged and standardised referencing method applied consistently throughout – be it footnote, endnote or in-text citation – authors will only need to format their pieces to the respective journal’s in-house style guide if an article has been accepted for publication.

Both RIS and EJIS have seen new editorial teams take over in 2024. New EJIS editor-in-chief Andrew Mumford said: 

“The pressures of modern academia mean that an author’s time is valuable. Therefore, transferring to free format makes submission to the journals easier and faster. We hope this makes EJIS more appealing to a wider array of authors, including academics with caring commitments.”

One of the new RIS editors, Andy Hom, said: 

“Prior to publication, the only referencing and formatting criterion we consider is whether the paper is presented and referenced in such a way that we – and the reviewers – can assess its potential contribution. This formal removal of formatting requirements will make both the submission and review process more efficient and supportive.”

If you are thinking of submitting an article to either journal, please take a look at the authors information page on the RIS or EJIS websites.