Position available - Assistant Editor, Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies

The South African Association of Political Studies hereby invites applicants for the position of Assistant Editor of Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies.

Responsibilities and Criteria

The Assistant Editor shall assist the Editor in:

  • Managing the peer review of submitted manuscripts
  • Heavily soliciting high-quality manuscripts from potential authors and assist these authors in seeing their manuscripts to publication
  • Deciding which manuscripts to publish
  • Selecting a sufficient pool of reviewers and editorial board members to evaluate manuscripts
  • Identifying and appointing qualified members to the editorial advisory board
  • Providing a clear vision for the direction of the journal
  • Recruiting guest editors for special issues
  • Ensuring ethical standards are met for all submissions

In addition, the successful applicant shall have Book Editor responsibilities such as:

  • Liaising with quality academic publishers to solicit review copies for the Book Review section of Politikon
  • Find suitable authors to review the books in order to draft book reviews of approximately 1200 words
  • Edit 2 -3 book reviews per issue for 3 journal issues per year
  • Ensure that all book reviews are received and submitted to meet the production schedule deadlines.
  • Ensure ethical standards are met for all book reviews. 
  • Perform all such editorial tasks assigned by the Editor-in-Chief

Key qualities sought for the position of Assistant Editor include an established record of scholarship in the field of politics and/or international relations or any relevant sub-field within political studies; a sound understanding of political studies scholarship; managerial skills to oversee the editorial cycle and meet deadlines; and the ability to recruit quality manuscripts.

Please note that this position will be for a period of three years after which the Assistant Editor will take the role of Editor-in-Chief for the editorial term of 2024 -2027. Thus, this position works to mentor the Assistant Editor before taking the position of Editor-in-Chief. 

The Assistant Editorship includes an honorarium.

To apply: Applications should include a CV & one-page Statement of Purpose, to be sent to the President of the South African Association of Political Studies, Prof Siphamandla Zondi at siphamandla.zondi@up.ac.za by no later than 15th April 2020.

For further details, contact the Editor-in-Chief at politikon.editor@tandf.co.uk