Submissions

The Harvard National Security Journal (NSJ) publishes original scholarly and practical works on contemporary national security issues. Our publishing covers a wide spectrum, and we welcome works that link national security topics with other salient fields. We accept submissions from both scholars and practitioners. We also support the work of junior scholars.

As of Fall 2011, the NSJ publishes pieces in two fora: the Journal and Features. Please do not submit pieces to both Features and the Journal. If a forum’s submissions staff feels that a submission would be better suited to the other forum, they will send that submission to the other forum’s submissions staff.

Please see our submissions policies below. And please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about these policies. Thank you for your interest in the Harvard National Security Journal.

The Journal

In the Journal, the NSJ publishes longer articles designed to advance national security scholarship. These articles are published online in semiannual issues. The articles also appear on HeinOnline, Westlaw, and, coming soon, LexisNexis.

We request that contributors comply with the following standards:

Electronic Submissions: We strongly encourage authors to submit their manuscripts electronically in Microsoft Word format. Submissions should be emailed as an attachment to hlsnsj.submissions@gmail.com with the word “Submissions” and the author’s last name in the subject line.

Hard Copy Submissions: Submissions by mail should be typed, double-spaced, and accompanied by a CD or other electronic medium containing the submission in Microsoft Word format. Such submissions should be mailed to the following address:

Harvard National Security Journal
Harvard Law School
Caspersen Student Center
Suite 3039
1585 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138

Submissions Deadlines: Articles may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a rolling basis. Whether an article is published in Issue 1 or Issue 2 will be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Length Guidelines: Articles are generally 10,000 words or longer. Shorter or longer works are considered on a case-by-case basis.

Citation Format: Please use footnotes rather than endnotes. Our preferred footnote style conforms to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th ed. 2010).

Review Process: The NSJ reads all articles that meet our guidelines. Each work receives a thorough review before a Submissions Editor responds with a decision. Decisions on articles are released on a rolling basis. Decisions should be received within six weeks of submission, but please allow for greater time during the summer months.

Editing Process: Each accepted work will be assigned to a team of NSJ Senior Editors and Staff Editors. This team will work with the author to edit and prepare the work for publication.

Features

In Features, the NSJ publishes Essays and Book Reviews. Essays are shorter pieces in which the author explores and critiques an aspect of national security policy. Book Reviews evaluate a current, published work in the national security field. Essays and book reviews are published online on a rolling basis.

We request that contributors comply with the following standards:

Electronic Submissions: We strongly encourage authors to submit their manuscripts electronically in Microsoft Word format. Submissions should be emailed as an attachment to hlsnsj.online.submissions@gmail.com with the word “Submissions” and the author’s last name in the subject line.

Hard Copy Submissions: Submissions by mail should be typed, double-spaced, and accompanied by a CD or other electronic medium containing the submission in Microsoft Word format. Such submissions should be mailed to the following address:

Harvard National Security Journal
Harvard Law School
Caspersen Student Center
Suite 3039
1585 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA 02138

Submissions Deadlines: Essays and book reviews may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a rolling basis.

Length Guidelines: Essays and book reviews should be no longer than 5,000 words. Longer works will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Citation Format: Please use hyperlinks rather than footnotes where appropriate. When using footnotes, our preferred footnote style conforms to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (19th ed. 2010).

Review Process: The NSJ reads all essays and book reviews that meet our guidelines. Each work receives a thorough review before a Submissions Editor responds with a decision. NSJ Features is committed to publishing timely pieces and thus all decisions will be made on an expedited basis.

Editing Process: Each accepted work will be assigned to a team of NSJ Senior Editors and Staff Editors. This team will work with the author to edit and prepare the work for publication.

Student Submissions:

The NSJ encourages student writing and provides an excellent opportunity for student publications. Pieces may be submitted electronically to hlsnsj.submissions@gmail.com or to hlsnsj.online.submissions@gmail.com with the words “Student Submission” in the subject line.