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Perspectives on Politics uses several channels to generate and develop articles. The editor and associate editors solicit some. Potential contributors also may submit a fully developed manuscript. Regardless of how a submission originates, everything we publish undergoes a standard review process.  The first step in this process is an in-house assessment by Editorial staff aimed at determining whether the submission is of sufficient quality or an appropriate fit for the journal.  This assessment is governed by a standard set of criteria that we apply to discuss each submission. At this juncture our aim is to determine whether or not we will send the manuscript out to referees.  In most cases, authors can expect to receive word one way or the other within a few weeks.  Those submissions that clear this hurdle then undergo a standard double-blind referee process.  Based on referee reports the Editor will then decide to reject a submission, accept it, or offer the author(s) the opportunity to revise and resubmit their manuscript.

Perspectives does not consider papers that are currently under review at other journals or that duplicate or overlap with parts of larger manuscripts submitted to other publishers (including publishers of both books and periodicals). Submission of manuscripts substantially similar to those submitted or published elsewhere, or to part of a book or other larger work, is also strongly discouraged. If you have any questions about whether these policies apply in your particular case, you should discuss any such publications related to a submission in a cover letter to the Editors or as part of the author comments section of the online submission process. You should also notify the Editors of any related submissions to other publishers, whether for book or periodical publication, that occur while a manuscript is under review at Perspectives and which would fall within the scope of this policy. The Editors may request copies of related publications.

You will be required to upload a minimum of three separate files:

• A separate title page that includes the full manuscript title, plus names and contact information (mailing address, telephone, fax, e-mail address) for all credited authors in the order their names should appear, as well as each authors’ academic rank and institutional affiliation.  You may also include any acknowledgements or other author notes about the development of the paper (e.g., previous presentations of the research) as part of this separate title page.  In the case of multiple authors, indicate which should receive correspondence.
  
  
• A 200-word abstract for the submission
  
  
• An anonymous digital file of your paper.  This file should not include any information that identifies the authors, or any other collaborators in the work (including anyone responsible for creating tables or figures, if they are also an author/collaborator).  It should not thank colleagues in notes or elsewhere in the body of the paper or mention institution names, web page addresses, or other potentially identifying information.

Although we strive to keep the review process as short as is possible, and to keep authors informed as to where their submissions stand in the process, our procedures often mean that our time to decision is somewhat longer than is the case with other journals. This is especially true in the case of symposia, and other collaborative forms of publication that require us to solicit relatively large numbers of referees.

Authors who wish to submit manuscripts for consideration at Perspectives on Politics must register with Editorial Manager®, our online manuscript processing system. First-time users should register and create their profile at www.editorialmanager.com/pop . Returning users may log in and continue using their existing profile, and may update their user information at any time.

When submitting manuscripts to Perspectives on Politics using Editorial Manager, be aware of the following file type restrictions:  Do not submit files using Microsoft® Word 2007 documents (.DOCX extension).  Please use an earlier version of Microsoft® Word.  Do not submit files as .PDF documents.  The Editorial Manager system will build a .PDF document from the files you submit, which will ensure anonymity.

If you have questions or concerns about our procedures please contact the Managing Editor at popsub@mail.rochester.edu.