Defence & Strategy

about submitting original contributions for the journal “Defence & Strategy”
(Approved by the editorial board as of 07/09/2007)

Information about the Journal:

The reviewed journal “Defence & Strategy” invites contributions in areas of security studies, strategic studies, military affairs, international relationships and related subjects. The journal is issued biannually in both printed and electronic form. The publisher is the University of Defence. The journal is registered by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, number MK ČR E 16787, and Czech ISSN National Centre, number ISSN 1214-6463 (print) and ISSN 1802-7199 (online). The journal is open to contributions from Czech and foreign authors. We welcome texts in Czech, Slovak or English language.

Journal Structure:

The internal structure of the journal consists of articles, expert essays in the “free board” section, materials, reviews and information service. The articles comprise feature articles (typically 1-3) and other articles (up to 10). Feature articles represent expert treatments focused on a specific topic that fulfill the most demanding requirements for quality of the article and erudition of the author. The other articles should rmeet the required criteria for quality and formal appearance (the choice of topic is free). Another part of the journal is constituted by expert essays (typically 1-2) that offer a less strict treatment of current or currently discussed expert issues, and materials providing introduction to current documents. Each issue provides space for presenting reviews of domestic and foreign publications (typically 2–5) and information service.

Feature Topics and Deadlines:

The editorial board approves the topic framework for individual journal issues. The set topic is not compulsory and authors are allowed to submit their articles for the “feature articles” section also if they treat other topics related to the scope of orientation of the journal. Suggested feature topics are typically published on the Internet presentation for the journal at http://www.defenceandstrategy.eu/.

Deadline for submitting your contributions to the journal are 31^st March and 15^th October.

Please, send original contributions in electronic form to: das@unob.cz .

Acceptance of Original Contributions – an Anonymous Reviewing Process:

The editorial board assesses the presented original contributions from the point of view of the focus of the journal and the contents of the particular issue, and decides on submitting or not submitting them for anonymous reviewing process (the author is not familiar with the names of the reviewers and vice versa). The anonymous reviewing process is obligatory for the articles. Expert essays and other texts are assessed by the editorial board or a delegated chairman of the editorial board. The authors are informed about accepting their articles for an anonymous reviewing process as well as its result by the chairman of the editorial board. The anonymous reviewing process typically consists of assessing the contribution by two independent reviewers selected from the experts recommended by the editorial board. The result of the anonymous reviewing process is mandatory for the author of the contribution, who is consequently obliged to incorporate the points of the opponents by the deadline set by the editorial board. In the case of insufficient adjustment of the original contribution the publisher reserves the right to refuse the publication of the respective original contribution.

By submitting their contributions the authors give the publisher the right to publish and distribute the contribution in Czech or any other language, in the Czech Republic or abroad, in printed or electronic form. The authors further consent that the work published in the journal cannot be published without the consent of the chairman of the editorial board and without including the respective reference in parallel and unmodified form in other periodicals, in printed or online form. The authors are familiar with the requirements for the appearance of the original contributions and they agree with publishing their contact information (e-mail) and a short professional biography. The authors also declare that the presented work has not been published and that they hold full and unrestricted author’s rights and they are fully entitled to present the work. Other than original parts of the text (parts taken over from another author‘s work) should be properly cited. The authors are legally fully responsible for the contents of the work and for not disclosing confidential facts according to respective valid regulations. The authors declare their assent with prospective adjustments of their contribution arising from the result of the reviewing process, language correction and other activities related to publication of the work. The author further expresses consent with prospective truncation of the article by the editors, if the maximum extent requirement is not met.

Original contributions or reprints are not honoured. Each of the authors and coauthors are entitled to two author’s copies of the printed version of the journal. If more contributions by the same author are published in a single issue, the number of author’s copies is not increased.

Other matters related to copyrights, their protection and management are subject to the copyright law in force (Law as of 07/04/2000 on copyrights, rights related to copyrights and the amendments of some laws).

Required Structure of Individual Journal Entries:

Article Structure

Czech (Slovak) title
English title
Author, co-authors
E-mail contacts of the authors

Abstract – brief characteristics of the article (topic, problem discussed, goal), main conclusions and benefits. The extent is 700-1500 characters (incl. spaces) in English. The abstract does not substitute the introduction in the article itself.

Keywords – max. 10 keywords and phrases in English; Czech and Slovak articles should also contain equivalents in their respective language.

Body (including introduction and conclusion) - the introduction outlines goals, methods, hypotheses, and possibly assesses the sources; the conclusion sums up the presented argumentation. Required standard length of articles is 10-30 pages (18000-54000 characters, incl. spaces), including endnotes and appendices.

Bibliography – a numbered and alphabetical list of used sources and literature in a standard form as per requirements of the ČSN ISO 690 a ČSN ISO 690-2 standards (described below).

Expert Essay Structure

Czech (Slovak) title
English title
Author
E-mail contact of the author

Abstract – brief characteristics of the essay (topic, problem discussed, goal), and possibly main conclusions and benefits. The extent is 700-1500 characters (incl. spaces) in English. The abstract does not substitute the introduction in the essay itself.

Keywords – max. 5 keywords and phrases in English; Czech and Slovak articles should also contain equivalents in their respective language.

Body – the introduction outlines the goals of the essays, the conclusion sums up the presented argumentation. Required standard length of essays is 4-10 pages (7200-18000 characters, incl. spaces), including notes. The text of an expert essay does not have to observe strict requirements for articles; rather it should treat of disputable or current issues while providing sufficiently objective professional background.

Bibliography – not obligatory. If the author refers to a specific source or title, the same appearance is required as with the articles.

Material Structure

Original title of the material
Title of the material in language of the contribution (Czech, Slovak, or English)
Author (or translator)
E-mail contact of the author

Abstract – brief characteristics of the material (topic, problem discussed, goal), and possibly assessment. The extent is 700-1500 characters (incl. spaces) in English. The abstract does not substitute the introduction in the text of the material itself.

Keywords – max. 5 keywords and phrases in English; Czech and Slovak articles should also contain equivalents in their respective language.

Body (including the introduction and possible conclusion) - the introduction presents the general information about the origin of the document and the reaons for its publishing; consludion is not obligatory. Required standard length of the body is 15 pages (27000 characters, incl. spaces), including notes.

Bibliography – not obligatory, with the exception of the source document. If the author refers to a specific source or title, the same appearance is required as with the articles.

Review Structure

Title of the review (does not have to be identical with the title of the publication reviewed)
Author
E-mail contact of the author

Bibliographic citation of the publication reviewed observing standards for bibliographical citations of the journal.
(e.g. SMITH, James Carl, NOWAK, George. Security in the 21st Century : The Unknown Story. 2nd enl. edition. New York, London : Oxford University Press, 2006. 235 p. ISBN 0071448209.)

Keywords – max. 5 keywords and phrases in English; Czech and Slovak articles should also contain equivalents in their respective language.

Body – the length of the review should be 3-6 pages (5400 – 10800 characters, incl. spaces), including notes. The structure does not require obligatory introduction and conclusion.

Bibliography – not obligatory. If the author refers to a specific source or title, the same list is required as with the articles.

Structure of the Information Service Entries

Title of the information or announcement
Author or person responsible
E-mail contact of the author or person responsible

Body – max. 2 pages (up to 3600 characters, incl. spaces). Information service includes contributions containing information about passed or upcoming professional activities, conferences, seminars, etc., running or prepared research projects, news from the defence community environment, etc. A brief English version of the information entry is requested for international events and projects. Based on agreement with the chairman of the editorial board it is also possible to publish other information relevant to the scope of interest of the journal and its readers.

Professional Biography

Together with their contribution the authors and co-authors should provide nonstructured professional biographies to be published as continuous text of up to 900 characters, incl. spaces, in English. Authors of contributions in Czech and Slovak should also provide respective language version thereof along with the English version. Authors are responsible for the quality of translation and correctness of the English texts.

A brief professional biography should contain the following:
• The author’s name and titles
• E-mail
• Telephone and fax contacts, mailing address (not to be published, to be used by the editors for providing the author’s issue)
• Year of birth
• Name of the represented institution
• Education
• Expert specialisation
• Other important information about the author, if relevant to the article (publications, grants, memberships, etc.)

Standards for bibliographic citations:

References to the used sources and literature should be included in a numbered note after the text; not within the text or in a footnote. Full citations of used sources should be presented after the text in an alphabetical list of cited literature. The standard for citations and references in the Defence & Strategy journal follows the standards ČSN ISO 690 (Bibliographic citations: Content, form and structure) and ČSN ISO 690-2 (Information and documentation – Bibliographic citations – Part 2: Electronic documents or their parts).

The following examples show the required method of providing citations and references:

Monograph (one to three authors)

(Reference in a note)
SURNAME, Name, SURNAME, Name, Title, referenced page.
RAMSBOTHAM, Oliver, WOODHOUSE, Tom, Humanitarian intervention in contemporary conflict: a reconceptualization, p. 177.

(Citation in a bibliography)
SURNAME, Name, SURNAME, Name, Title. Place of publishing : publisher, year. No. of pages. ISBN.
RAMSBOTHAM, Oliver, WOODHOUSE, Tom. Humanitarian intervention in contemporary conflict: a reconceptualization. Cambridge : Polity Press, 1996. 284 p. ISBN 0745615112.

Monograph (more than three authors)

(Reference in a note)
SURNAME, Name (the first author), et al. (instead of listing the other authors), Title, referenced page.
LITERA, Bohuslav, et al., Vzájemné vztahy postsovětských republik, p. 111.

(Citation in a bibliography)
SURNAME, Name (the first author), et al. (instead of listing the other authors), Title, Place of publishing : publisher, year. No. of pages. ISBN.
LITERA, Bohuslav, et al. Vzájemné vztahy postsovětských republik. Praha : Ústav mezinárodních vztahů, 1998. 162 p. ISBN 8085864452.

Collection of works

(Reference in a note)
Title, Name and surname of the editor, referenced page.
A matter of principle, humanitarian arguments for war in Iraq, editor Thomas Cushman, p. 55.

(Citation in a bibliography)
Title. Name and surname of the editor. Place of publishing : publisher, year. No. of pages. ISBN.
A matter of principle, humanitarian arguments for war in Iraq. Editor Thomas Cushman. Berkeley : University of California Press, 2005. 384 p. ISBN 0520245555.

Entry in a collection of works

(Reference in a note)
SURNAME, Name (author of the entry), Title of the entry, referenced page.
SKILLING, Gordon, Opposition in Communist East Europe, p. 95.

(Citation in a bibliography)
SURNAME, Name (author of the entry). Title of the entry. In SURNAME, Name (Editor). Collection title. Place of publishing : Publisher, Year. No. of pages of the entry. ISBN.
SKILLING, Gordon. Opposition in Communist East Europe. In DAHL, Robert. Regimes and oppositions. New Haven – London : Yale University Press, 1973. pp. 89-119. ISBN 0300013906.

Article in a Periodical

(Reference in a note)
SURNAME, Name, Title of the Article, referenced page.
MICHISHITA, Narushige, Coercing to Reconcile: North Korea’s Response to US “Hegemony”, p. 1023.

(Citation in a bibliography)
SURNAME, Name. Title of the article. Title of the periodical. Year, Volume, Issue, Pages.
MICHISHITA, Narushige. Coercing to Reconcile: North Korea’s Response to US “Hegemony”. The Journal of Strategic Studies. 2006, vol. 29, no. 6 – December 2006, pp. 1015-1040.

Article in an Online Periodical

(Reference in a note)
SURNAME, Name, Title of the Article.
JAŠUREK, Igor, The unfeasibility of building a political nation in Czechoslovakia 1918-1939. A case study of Milan Hodža.

(Citation in a bibliography)
SURNAME, Name. Title of the article. Title of the periodical [online]. Year, Volume, Issue [cit. YYYY-MM-DD]. Available on WWW: . ISSN.
JAŠUREK, Igor. The unfeasibility of building a political nation in Czechoslovakia 1918-1939. A case study of Milan Hodža. Central European Political Studies Review [online]. 2007, vol. 9, no. 1 – winter [cit. 2007-08-07]. Available on WWW: . ISSN 1212-7817.

Online document

(Reference in a note)
Title of the document [online], no. of pages (if applicable).
Document of the Copenhagen meeting of the conference of the human dimension of the OSCE [online], p. 5.

(Citation in a bibliography)
Title of the document [online]. Website title, Year of document’s publication (or website’s publication) [cit. YYYY-MM-DD]. No. of pages (if applicable). Available on WWW: .
Document of the Copenhagen meeting of the conference of the human dimension of the OSCE [online]. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights – Elections, 2006 [cit. 2007-08-08]. 26 p. Available on WWW: .

Websites

(Reference in a note)
Website title [online].
Institute of International Relations Website [online].

(Citation in a bibliography)
Website title [online]. Year of the website’s publication [cit. YYYY-MM-DD]. Available on WWW: .
Institute of International Relations Website [online]. 2004 [cit. 2007-08-07]. Available on WWW: .

In other cases, authors are advised to contact the editors of the journal.

Other Formal Requirements and Recommendations:

We prefer generalising original contributions focusing on professional problems while maintaining the strategy point of view. Particular, excessively detailed or too technical text may not be accepted for publication. If necessary, consult your texts with the chairman of the editorial board.

Unless stated otherwise, the required standard lengths of texts cover only the text of the original contribution itself and the endnotes. Listings of used sources and literature, abstract, summary and other accompanying information are not counted towards the extent of the contribution.

Contributions are accepted only in an electronic form in the following formats: doc, rtf, txt or other format suitable for MS Word 2002. Please, use the simplest possible appearance of the text with minimum usage of styles and formatting options; use recommended unified font (Times New Roman, size 12). Chapters should not be numbered; the text should be structure in maximum 3 levels. Please, try to avoid highlighting the text by bold or coloured letters. Italics and quotation marks should be used solely for citations of the used sources and literature.

Graphs, tables and other images should be attached as separate, clearly identified files. Authors should also keep them in the text or make a clear and unambiguous note at an appropriated position in the text about the image to be placed. All images should be rendered in such a way that legibility is not affected by size reduction and black and white print. If an image is taken over from another source, it is necessary to cite the respective source.

The author is responsible for the quality of translation and the correctness of all their English texts (biography, abstract, keywords, etc.). Unless agreed otherwise, the editors will be responsible for providing the Czech translation of original contributions in English.

Depending on the capacities of the publisher the original contributions will be submitted for language proofreading; the author nevertheless bear full responsibility for the language quality of their contributions.

Upon consulting with the chairman of the editorial board it is possible to publish further audiovisual accompanying material with the original contributions in the electronic version of the journal.

Author’s contributions, whose form and language quality will not meet the above listed requirements, will be returned to the authors, or may be entirely rejected.

All texts published in the journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.

Contact:

Requests for information, consulting, and exceptions from the required standards should be sent to the chairman or the secretary of the editorial board:

Libor Frank, Ph.D.
Chairman of the Editorial Board

Phone: +420 973 442 993
Fax: +420 973 443 371
libor.frank@unob.cz

Antonín Novotný, MSc.
Secretary of the Editorial Board

Phone: +420 973 443 055
Fax: +420 973 443 371
antonin.novotny@unob.cz

Editorial office "Obrana a strategie"
Department of Lifelong Learning
Faculty of Economics and Management
University of Defence
Kounicova 65
662 10 Brno
Czech Republic