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, practitioners, and law students.
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
Room 2072
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 15,000 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 (20th ed. 2015).
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
The Harvard National Security Journal publishes relatively short articles about national security in the Features section of the NSJ website.
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 “Features” and the author’s last name in the subject line.
Submissions Deadlines: Features may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Length Guidelines: Features should be no longer than 5,000 words. Longer works will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Citation Format: Please use embedded hyperlinks rather than footnotes where appropriate. When using footnotes, our preferred footnote style conforms to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed. 2015).
Review Process: NSJ reads all articles that meet our guidelines. Each work receives a thorough review before an NSJ Editor responds with a decision. NSJ is committed to publishing timely Features, so all decisions will be made on an expedited basis.
Editing Process: Every accepted Feature will be assigned to a team of NSJ 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.online.submissions@gmail.com with the words “Student Submission” and the author’s last name in the subject line.