Submissions

Author Guidelines

1. General presentation

This guide for authors defines the scientific, editorial and ethical rules applicable to any submission intended for the academic journal published by Alafarika for Studies and Consultancy, specialised in African geopolitics, governance and security. Any submission implies full and complete acceptance of the provisions below.

2. Types of contributions accepted

The journal publishes different formats of scientific contributions in order to promote rigorous and diversified production of knowledge. The following are accepted: original research articles, review articles and literature reviews, strategic analyses and contributions related to public policies, empirical case studies, and research notes, as well as reviews of scientific works.
Each type of contribution is subject to an adapted scientific evaluation process, in accordance with the academic standards of the journal.

3. Languages of submission

Manuscripts may be submitted in English, Arabic or French, in accordance with the multilingual and inclusive vocation of the journal.

·       Multilingual summaries

The summary must be provided in at least two languages. Where possible, submission of a trilingual abstract (English–Arabic–French) is strongly encouraged in order to enhance the dissemination and international visibility of published work.

4. Conditions of originality

Manuscripts submitted must be original, unpublished and not simultaneously submitted to another journal or collective work. Any partial or total reproduction of content without proper citation will result in immediate rejection of the manuscript. Authors are required to fill out the Statement of Originality (can be downloaded here) and declare any previous version of the text (working paper, report, scientific communication, etc.).

5. Evaluation process

All manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer review by at least two independent external reviewers.
At the end of this process, the possible editorial decisions are as follows:

·       acceptance without modification,

·       acceptance subject to minor modifications,

·       request for major revisions,

·       rejection.

The average evaluation time is estimated to be between three and six weeks.

6. Mandatory structure of the manuscript

6.1. Title page (separate document)

The title page must include the following:

·       the title of the article,

·       the name(s) and first names of the author(s),

·       institutional affiliation,

·       the email address,

·       a brief biographical note (50 to 80 words);

· a declaration of conflicts of interest, if applicable.

6.2. Anonymized manuscript

The manuscript for evaluation must be fully anonymised and include the following:

·       the title of the article,

·       a summary/abstract of 150 to 250 words,

·       four to six keywords,

·       the main text,

·       the notes, if necessary,

·       the bibliographic references,

·       The annexes, if applicable.

7. Standards of presentation

7.1. Length

·       Research articles: 7,500 words

·       Research notes: 3,500 words

·       Book reviews: 1,500 words

7.2. Formatting

·       Police: Times New Roman

·       Size: 12 (text), 10 (notes)

·       Interline: 1.5

·       Margins: 2.5 cm

·       Alignment: justified

8. Titles and subtitles

Titles and subtitles should follow a hierarchical numbering (1., 1.1., and 1.1.1.); be clear, precise, and concise; and avoid excessively long or ambiguous wording.

9. Tables, figures and graphs

Tables, figures and graphs must be numbered and titled, with systematic indication of the source. Editable formats (Word, Excel) are required. The authors are fully responsible for respecting the rights of use and reproduction.

10. Bibliographical references

References must be presented in a standardised style: APA (7th edition).

Examples (APA)

Book: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the work. Editor.

Article: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the journal, volume (number), pages.

11. Footnotes

Footnotes are to be used in a limited way, only for clarifications. They are numbered in a continuous manner and must not contain complete bibliographical references.

12. Quotations

Short quotations are embedded in the text between quotes. Long quotations (more than 40 words) are indented, without quotes. The precise mention of the source and the page is mandatory.

13. Research ethics

Authors must respect the principles of scientific integrity, mention institutional funding and support, obtain the necessary authorisations for surveys and interviews, and guarantee the anonymity of interviewees, if applicable.

14. Plagiarism and integrity

The journal applies a zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism, abusive self-plagiarism, falsification of data, and AI texts. All manuscripts are subject to systematic plagiarism detection.

15. Copyright and publication fee

The authors retain their publishing rights while granting the journal a licence for electronic distribution. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) licence.

Alafarika, the publisher, adopts open-access publishing for all its journals, committed to open-access publishing and to making research accessible to all readers and researchers without financial barriers.

•        No submission fee is required from authors during this journal’s initial phase (2026-2027).

• For international authors (non-African authors from non-African institutions), there will be an Article Processing Charge (APC) when a submission fee is introduced in the future.

• For African authors (African authors from African institutions), the submission fee will be modest when introduced in the future and designed in ways that help researchers from low-income African countries while also maintaining high-quality publishing standards, supporting the peer-review process, and providing honoraria to reviewers.

•        Alafarika is also in constant consultation with organisations and foundations to help African authors offset the publication fee so as to make the submission free for all Africans.

16. Corrections and proofs

Authors receive proof of their articles for final validation. At this stage, only minor corrections are allowed, within strictly defined deadlines.

17. Submission of manuscripts

Manuscripts should be submitted (with the filled-out statement of originality) online or sent to:

 [email protected] / [email protected]

Subject of the email:

·       Submission – JAGGS Journal [Volume No.] – [Name of author]

Required documents:

·       Title page

·       Anonymized manuscript

·       Statement of originality

18. Editorial contact

Editorial secretariat – Alafarika Journals

 [email protected] / [email protected]

19. Acceptance of the guide

Any submission constitutes full and complete acceptance of this detailed guide for authors.