Last revised: July 2019
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 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 NSJ.
The Print Journal
In the Print 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, LexisNexis.
We request that authors 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, e.g., “Submissions – Doe.”
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 should be longer than 11,000 words, although we strongly prefer submissions that are 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 and conform footnotes to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed. 2015).
Review Process: We read all articles that meet these 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 made within six weeks of submission, but please allow for additional time during school breaks and end-of-semester exam periods. For more information on the Harvard Law School’s academic calendar, please visit this link.
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.
The Online Journal
The NSJ publishes relatively short articles about national security on the NSJ website. NSJ Online strongly encourages student submissions.
We request that authors comply with the following standards:
Electronic Submissions: All manuscripts must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format. Submissions should be emailed as an attachment to hlsnsj.online.submissions@gmail.com with the words “NSJ Online” and the author’s last name in the subject line, e.g., “NSJ Online – Doe.” Student submissions should be identified as such, e.g., “NSJ Online – Student Submission – Doe.”
Submissions Deadlines: Online submissions may be submitted at any time and are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Length Guidelines: Online submissions should be no longer than 10,000 words (excluding abstract, table of contents, and footnotes), although we strongly prefer submissions with 5,000–7,500 words.
Citation Format: Please use footnotes rather than endnotes and conform footnotes to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation (20th ed. 2015). Embedded hyperlinks rather than footnotes may be used when appropriate.
Review Process: We read all Online submissions that meet these guidelines. Each work receives a thorough review before the Executive Editor for Online responds with a decision. Decisions on Online submissions are released on a rolling basis. Decisions should be made within four weeks of submission, but please allow for additional time during school breaks and end-of-semester exam periods. For more information on the Harvard Law School’s academic calendar, please visit this link.
Editing Process: Every accepted Online submission will be assigned to a team of NSJ Editors led by the Executive Editor for Online. This team will work with the author to edit and prepare the work for publication.