About the Journal

ISSN: Print 2738-9162, Online 2738-9170

JOURNAL DESCRIPTION

Journal of African Politics (JAP) is published by the University of Dodoma (UDOM), Tanzania. Launched in October 2021, it seeks to profile research findings and contemporary debates regarding theories and practices of African politics and  governance. It serves to bridge the knowledge gap created by limited but generic platforms for sharing empirically researched findings about African politics. All articles published in this Journal are Open Access and no Article Processing Charges apply. Authors are allowed to retain Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 user license. With effect from January 2023, the Journal will be published biannually in June and December.

 

Aims and Scope

Journal of African Politics aims to facilitate educational excellence through intellectual debates from local and international scholars and practitioners. Specifically, the Journal contributes to scholarship through stimulating research on governance, politics and political development in Africa; creating a platform for academic debates that bring together critical minds of local and international scholars and practitioners in the field of Political Science; cultivating learning and academic growth through methodological and theoretical conceptualisations of African politics; and developing knowledge and contributing to the existing literature on theory and practice of African politics and governance in general.

JAP covers a wide range of topics in the field of Political Science, particularly politics, governance and public administration, economics, society, law, gender, international affairs, development, philosophy, history and political geography. The Journal publishes articles on political dynamics and processes in Africa and their impact on African political communities and the world at large.

The Journal welcomes all research styles, from theoretical and empirical studies to practice-based papers and research notes and embraces pragmatic methodological tradition as it is not biased to a particular methodological tradition. See Author Guidelines for further information.

 

EDITORIAL POLICIES

  • Peer Review Policy

In upholding quality and international standards, the manuscripts submitted to JAP undergo editorial and double-blind peer review processes. The editorial board comprises local and international scholars in the fields of politics and social sciences. The merit of the submitted manuscripts shall be of quality in terms of their scholarly content, structure, and originality with a relevant topic in line with the Journal's scope and policies. JAP practices anonymous reviewers/anonymous authors policy. In this regard, all files to and from authors shall be made anonymous to prevent the identities of the authors and reviewers from being known to either parts.

JAP will treat  confidential all submitted  manuscripts  and correspondences. Reviewers are urged not reveal details of the manuscript or their review reports before or even after the publication. Manuscripts will not be shared with third parties except in circumstances of investigating misconducts.

  • Open Acess Policy

JAP is an open-access journal subscribing to the Open Access definition by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). Articles published in this Journal will be freely available. The Univerisity of Dodoma covers all publication costs, and authors will not be required to pay Article Processing Charges (APC).

  • Copyrights  and Licencing

Authors will be allowed to retain the copyright of their materials and grant first publication right to JAP. All works will be licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 user license.  The Corresponding Author will be required to sign an agreement form that will address license and copyright issues.

  • Authorship and contributorship

The corresponding author must ensure that authorship and contributorship, including the ordering, are agreed upon by contributors before submission. The corresponding author should ensure that only persons who significantly contributed to the paper's authorship are included. Persons who contributed to the research but did not participate in authoring a paper may be listed in the acknowledgements section. A person whose name has been included as one of the authors without his/her consent may petition the Chief Editor. The corresponding author must add all the contributors and their valid email addresses during submission. JAP will ensure that listed contributors are notified about every stage of the editorial process. 

  • Declaration of conflict of interests

Authors, editors and reviewers will be responsible for disclosing any conflict of interest they might have concerning a particular manuscript. JAP subscribes to COPE's definition of conflict of interest, stating that: “Conflicts of interest arise when authors, reviewers, or editors have interests that are not fully apparent and that may influence their judgments on what is published.” The author who fails to disclose his/her conflict of interests will be deemed to have violated the Journal’s publication policies.

  • Complaint handling

The Chief Editor will handle all complaints on publication processes and will be responsible for providing timely feedback about the complaints raised. Complaints regarding author's research misconduct i.e. violation of research or publication ethics, will be referred to the Editorial Board. If the Editor engages in research misconducts, please submit your complaint direct to the   Director of Research, Publications and Consultancy of the University of Dodoma (Email: drpc@udom.ac.tz). The Director will investigate the matter and take appropriate action. 

All allegations of research misconduct brought to the attention of JAP before or after the publication will be handled seriously. A whistleblower who chooses to remain anonymous will not be disclosed. All allegations will be investigated, including allowing the author to explain, justify or defend against the accusations. If allegations against the author are proven, the publication of his/her paper will be terminated/unpublished. Author(s) who have participated in academic dishonesty will be barred from publishing their future works with JAP.

JAP retains the right to remove any published content from its website if it establishes contributor violation of research/publication ethics or in the circumstances of receiving the order from the Courts of law.

  • Ethical Issues

JAP envisions publishing high-quality research outputs and is committed to the highest standards of research integrity and publication ethics. Editors, technical members, reviewers and authors shall observe the ethical guidance outlined on Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) website.

Authors seeking to submit their manuscripts for consideration by JAP shall adhere to the following ethical guidelines:

  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration unless it is a pre-print or conference proceeding and an explanation has been provided in comments to the Editor. JAP participates in Crossref Similarity Check.  All submissions will be screened by iThenticate. Articles with a Similarity Index above 15% will not be considered except under the circumstances provided above.
  • It is author(s’) original work.
  • Research clearances and ethical approval were obtained.
  • Where necessary, permissions for third-party materials used in the work have been thought.
  • Only persons who meaningfully contributed to the paper have been included.
  • All contributors are aware of the submission and the corresponding author provides their valid email addresses to JAP.
  • All conflicts of interest have been declared.
  • Data presented are genuine and does not involve falsification or fabrication.

AUTHOR GUIDELINES (2023)

Please read these guidelines carefully before you proceed with the submission of your article to JAP. Any submission which does not conform to Journal Scope, Authorship Policies, Ethical Guidelines and other policies Shall not be accepted by the Journal. Do not refer to any published article to format your work; use these guidelines to prepare your paper for submission.   

Formatting your manuscript

File Format

Microsoft Word Format

Font Type & Size

Bahnschrift Light Semi Condensed. Font size 12

Article length
  • The length of a journal article should be between 7,000 – 10,000 words, including abstracts, main text, tables, figures, notes, references and appendices.
  •  Shorter contributions and book reviews should not be more than 3,000 words.
  • All text should be in Bahnschrift Light Semi Condensed with page numbers centred at the bottom of the page.

Text alignment
  • Article abstract should be indented
  • Main text should be justified except for headings and subheadings (in bold)
  • First-level headings should be bolded and numbered in Arabic numerals (eg. 1, 2, 3, e.t.c)
  •  Second-level headings (sub-headings) should be bold but not numbered, third level headings should be italicised (not bold)

Language

The Journal prefers the use of English (British) language. It is highly advised that authors engage professional language editors to go through the manuscripts before submission

Title

Provide a concise title of your article

Abstract

Provide the abstract of your research article, preferably not more than 250 words. Among others, it should outline the main argument(s), the research approach/methods and highlight key contributions. The abstract should be indented.  

Key words

Provide 3 to 5 keywords that capture key issues discussed and that can easily help to make your article to be easily recoverable
   

Notes/footnote

Footnotes and end notes should be kept to a minimum. They should be in 10 font sizes numbered in Arabic numerals

Tables & Figures

Tables and Figures should be numbered in Arabic numerals with the caption placed on the top (for the tables) and at the bottom (for figures). Where appropriate, the sources should be specified.

All illustrations, figures, and tables should be placed within the text at the appropriate points.

Citatation  and referencing Style   

References should follow APA 7th reference guide  but in line with the following formatting:

  •  Intext citation (at the beginning or in the middle of the sentense)

·        Pastory (2022) for a single author

·        Pastory & Chang’a (2022) for two authors

·        Pastory et al. (2022) for three authors and above. Note, “et al” should be in italics.

  • Intext citation (at the end of the sentense)

·        (Pastory, 2022)

·        (Pastory & Chang’a, 2022)

·        (Makulilo et al., 2022)

  •  Citation for more than one work

·        (Rodrick, 2018; Paget, 2020; Shimba & Mwakalobo, 2021; Pastory, et al., 2022)

  •  Where direct quotation has been used, page number(s) should be added in the following format: Mmassy (2022:10)-when the material are quoted from a single page, or Mmassy (2022:10-12)- if page ranges are involved.
  •  It is encouraged that, in edited volume, cite a respective author(s) of articles/chapters in the book and not editors of the book

References

 

References should be indented and should strictly observe the following format:

Journal Article (Single Author)

 

Shayo, D.P. (2022). Digitalising Democracy. Journal of African Politcs, 2(2):1-38.

Journal Article (Two Authors)

Makunja, A.B., & Mukama, A. (2022). Democracy and Development, Journal of Social Sciences, 3(1):60-90.

Journal Article (More than Two Authors)

Pendo, P., Changalawe, H., Makula, A.B., & Mgeta, A. (2022). Democracy and Development, Journal of African Politics, 3(1):60-90.

Journal Article with a DOI

Bannet, S. A. (2005). Exploring psychosocial disorders among primary school children: a qualitative approach. Journal of Public Health, 9, 489. https://doi.org/10.1786/1771-2558- 9-382.

Journal Article

with an Article

Number

Mihayo, E., & Jackson, J. (2019). Belief in constructivism approach: Implication on pyschosocial skills. PLoS Two, 14(12): Article e0325974. https://doi.org/10.2371/journal.pone.0335864.

Book (Single Author)

Kessy, A. (2023). Local Government in Tanzania, Dar es Salaam: Dar es Salaam University Press.

Book (Two Authors)

Bleck, J., & Van de Walle, N. (2018). Electoral Politics in Africa since 1990. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Book (More than two Authors)

Bee, K., Celin, H. B., & Brian, I. S. (2013). Information Behaviour Concept: A Basic Introduction. New Jersey: University of Life Press.

Book:

Organisation as

Author

Tanzania Institute of Education. (2015). Standards for educational Management. Dar es salaam: Government Printers.

E-book

Ludovic, T. (2004). The developmental social psychology of children. Children  Associates. https://chid.ulm.ac.id/741/record=b1890622.

Chapter from an E-book

Jones, N. A., & Wilson, C. M. (2008). The neurophysiology for mental health. In G. D. Genes & P. W. R. Windhoek (Eds.), Empathy in mental disorder. Dublin University Press. https://lib.ugm.ac.id:363/record=b2130404.

Book Chapter

Ndulu B.J., Mbowe W.E., and Hunter E. (2019). “Ethnicity, citizenry and national building in Tanzania”. In: Hino H, Langer A, Lonsdale J and Stewart F. (eds), From divided pasts to cohesive futures: Reflections on Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press: pp. 98–122.

Article in an encyclopedia

Gothbert, D. (2007). Physiotherapy. In E. Paschal & T. Murrel (Eds.), Gale encyclopedia of physical disorders (Vol.3, pp. 326-428). Gale.

Conference paper

Aumueller, D. (2005), "Semantic authoring and retrieval within a wiki", paper presented at the European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC), 29 May-1 June, Heraklion, Crete, available at: http://dbs.uni-leipzig.de/file/aumueller05wiksar.pdf (accessed 20 February 2007).

Paper Presentation from the Internet

Wrightt, S. (2016, March 25-26). What is the use of 3d user interfaces, and can we continue using? [Paper presentation]. ILEL Symposium on 3D User Interfaces, Entebbe, VA. https://doi.org/11.2309/VR.2016.149.

Unpublished Paper Presentation

Adolph, Z., & Newcastle, Y. (2014, June). Integrated waste management system [Paper presentation]. Enviromental Conservation Symposium, Adis Ababa.

Newspaper Article in Print

Kissanga, T. (2004, October 5). Covid 19 Pandemic: What strategies can we use to overcome health crisis? The Gurdian: Extra, p. 6.

Newspaper Article with URL

Mahenge, H. (2010, January 28). Construction of new classrooms offers hope to increased enrolment. Daily News.

http://www.dailynewsonline/tol/news/online/education/article8115302.ece.

Published Thesis

May, B. (2017) A survey of radial velocities in the zodiacal dust cloud. Canopus Publishing.

Unplublished Thesis/dissertation

Venance, T. (2015). Language for life [PhD thesis], University of Dar es salaam].

Tweet

Wizkidsk, T. [@Wizkids]. (2018, February 20). Fiscalproof survey @birdseconomics, great-Scientific findings,live catts #Developmenteconomics: http://apple.co/2kXmeCd:http://batt.hl/2falwmw6 [Tweet]. https://twitter.com/Wizkidsk?ref_dstl=tnmlr^google| twcramp^sirk|twgr^audho

Note: Use APA 7th Referencing Guide on how to reference other sources not listed here. For books, JAP still demand place of publication.

Submitting Your Article

All articles shall be submitted through the editorial system. Before submitting your manuscript, make sure:

  1. It complies with the JAP’s publication ethical guidelines and formatting guidelines;

  2. You have omitted any information that may identify you as the author. All files containing your name (e.g. title pages, biographic notes) should be uploaded separately;

  3. The paper is in line with the   Journal's scope

First, register and create author account (if you are submitting for the first time to this Journal) or login to an existing account if you are already a User. Your username shall be your email address. If You have forgotten your password, click forgot password and an email will be sent to you with a link to set-up a new password.

Starting Submission

  • On starting your submission, read and acknowledge that you've completed the requirements (as outlined in Journal Policies).

Uploading submission

  • Add a file you want to upload, beginning with the title page. A title page is a separate document containing the title of the article and author(s) details). Then, click “Edit” to select the type of document added i.e. Title Page
  • Add the main document (the whole article without author details) and select Article Text as your document type. The article text can be the research paper, conceptual paper, literature review, case study and general review, book review or viewpoint.
  • Add any other document(s) if any, e.g. acknowledgement by following the same procedure.
  • Make sure you select the appropriate file type for all the files you added before proceeding to another step.

Entering Bibliographic Metadata

  • Fill in the metadata information. These will include author details, institutional affiliation and email address. Make sure all contributors with their email addresses are added. Then save and continue.

Confirming your submission

  • After your submission has been uploaded and is ready to be sent, you can click “Finish Submission” to complete your submission. Please note that, you can only go back to review your submission before clicking “Finish Submission.” If you want to change something, make sure you do it before attempting this stage.

After submission

  • You will receive an email confirming that your article has been submitted to the Editor.
  • The editorial desk will check your article for compliance with author guidelines and whether it suffices for admission for peer review.
  • If the article passes editorial scrutiny, it will be forwarded to two anonymous peer reviewers. If not, it will be outrightly dismissed. Either way, you will be notified by email.
  • Based on reviewers’ feedback, the Editor will either decide to accept your manuscript, request minor or major revisions, OR reject your work.
  • You should expect the first decision within 60 days. If not, please login into our system to see the status of your article.

Revising Your manuscript

  • Once the decision is made, you will be given time to work on reviewers’ comments and submit a revised manuscript. It is your duty to make sure that all comments are addressed diligently and responded to accordingly. Submission of revisions should observe given timelines. If you need more time to work on your revision, you should consult the Editor through editor.jap@udom.ac.tz  immediately after receiving the editor’s decision.
  • In submitting a revised manuscript, the revisions/changes made should be in coloured text or highlighted by colour highlighter or both. Also, you should prepare a matrix table responding to the comments:

Eg.

Reviewer(s) Comment

Response

1.

-

Post-revision

  • Upon receiving a revised manuscript, editors will check your work to see whether the review queries have been adequately addressed. In case of major revisions, editors may forward the revised manuscript to the same reviewers or assign a third reviewer for further confirmation.
  • If there are additional comments from the reviewers, you will be asked to work on them and submit a second revision.

Copyright & licencing issues

  • If your article is accepted, you will be notified and sent a contributor agreement form that will address licence and copyright issues. You will be asked to sign and return a copyright agreement form, in this case:
    • You will be required to check your author details and confirm whether they are correct.
    • You will retain Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 user license
    • You will be allowed to keep the copyright of the paper but grant publication rights to JAP.

Production process

  • After submitting the licence form, the production process of your article will begin. This will involve editorial checks, copyediting and typesetting.
  • The proofs will then be returned to you. You will be asked to work on the proofs and return a corrected paper within two business days. This will be the last opportunity for you to correct typographical errors, grammatical errors or incorrect author details. Extensive changes after this stage are strictly not accepted.
  • Finalised articles may be published online as “online first articles” before being assigned to the issue and volume. A full issue will be published as per the issue schedule. All articles will be assigned DOI after being assigned to issue.
  • You will be emailed a link of your published article

After Publication

You are hingly encouraged to share the web-link  of your article into your networks so that your work can have more impact.