Submissions

Comparativ publishes thematic issues and single articles with a specific focus on border-crossing flows of people, goods, capital, ideas, and other cultural patterns as well as viruses, pollution, and effects of climate change. At the same time, it addresses research on how people try to get or stabilize control over such flows by establishing all sorts of orders and regulations. Preference is given to manuscripts that address not only the qualitative or quantitative measurement of such flows but also take into consideration the changing attempts to control these flows. Such attempts may take the form of new institutions, spatial formats, legal frameworks, social habits, or ideologies, to mention but a few. Contributions with theoretical and methodological considerations as well as papers on the role of transnationalism and transregionalism in any societal dimension are also welcomed. The rigorous peer-review process based on initial screening by the editorial board, the editors of the thematic issues, and anonymous peer reviewers guarantees the high quality of each issue.

Each Comparativ issue comprises up to three sections. The article section is edited by the editor(s) in charge of the respective thematic issue. The forum section features single contributions not devoted to the theme of the thematic issue but engaged in topics relevant to the overall journal. The review section offers critical assessment of recent scientific publications relating to transnational, transregional, and global history.

Thematic Issue Proposal

Comparativ publishes 6 thematic issues a year, with an overall length of 40,000 words for each issue. Additionally, the journal also considers from time to time proposals for double issues, with a maximum of 8 contributions plus a substantial introduction.

The review process is organized into two steps. In the first step, the innovative character and the coherence of a proposal for a full thematic issue is evaluated by the editorial board. Proposals have to be submitted by September 30th of each year at the latest to be discussed at the annual editorial symposium in order to be considered for the following year.

Proposals should not exceed 2,000 words and need to contain both a description of the overall aims of the issue and of the individual articles with the names of the planned authors.

The second step of the peer-review process applies to the submitted manuscript, targeting the individual quality of the articles as well as their original contribution to the overall aims of the thematic issue as outlined in the introduction by the guest editors of the issue. Please send your submission as a Word document to the journal’s editorial office by mail: comparativ@uni-leipzig.de or login to the editorial system and upload your submission.

Forum Article Proposal

Comparativ looks for articles of the highest quality for the forum section. Only texts that are not yet published or under review for publication elsewhere can be considered. Articles are accepted in English, French, and German and have to be accompanied by an abstract of 100–150 words in English or German. In general, the article should not exceed a length of 8,000 words (including footnotes). If you wish to submit an article that exceeds the standard length, please consult the editorial office in advance, as exceptions to the limit are only granted in justified cases.

Submitted articles must adhere to the Comparativ style guide.

Forum article submissions are considered throughout the year, with the peer-review process being organized accordingly.

Please send your submission as a Word document to the journal’s editorial office by mail: comparativ@uni-leipzig.de.

Book Review Suggestion & Submission

Comparativ, itself being a product of the ongoing transnationalization in the humanities and social sciences, aims at facilitating scholarly dialogue across the boundaries of national academic cultures, linguistic areas, and disciplinary definitions of subject matters. It therefore focuses on reviewing forthcoming or recent publications that contribute in an innovative way to the development of transnational, transregional, and global history as well as to the study of globalization projects across world regions. Suggestions for such reviews from both publishers and scholars are welcomed.

Reviews of individual publications should be no longer than 1,500 words. Reviews of a set of publications that provide an overview of recent trends in a particular subfield of Comparativ’s general focus should not exceed 4,000 words.

Submitted book reviews must adhere to the Comparativ style guide.

Publishers will receive a copy of the review article once it has been published. Please note that unrequested review copies will not be returned.

Books suggestions for review are considered throughout the year. If you would like to review books for the journal, please contact us: comparativ@uni-leipzig.de.

Open-Access Policy

All articles are published under the open-access policy of the journal. All issues of Comparativ are fully available to its subscribers, and after 24 months, issues and articles become open access to all readers. Authors are allowed to post the published version on their personal/departmental website as well as place it in their institution’s official repository by connecting to the journal’s website and indicating the original place of publication. Book reviews are open access without a paywall.