Submission and peer review guidelines

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Deliberative Democracy (formerly the Journal of Public Deliberation) is an open access journal publishing articles that shape the scholarship and practice on deliberative democracy around the globe. It is the forum for cutting-edge research and emerging alternative debates, as well as critical views on deliberation. The jourøal welcomes submissions from all theoretical and methodological traditions. Its outputs are relevant to scholars and practitioners of all disciplines interested in participatory and deliberative democracy, democratic theory, critical democracy studies and democratic resilience. 

The journal is supported by the newDemocracy Foundation, the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the International Association for Public Participation. It is hosted at the Centre for Deliberative Democracy at the University of Canberra, Australia and published by University of Westminster Press, London, United Kingdom.

Editors: Hans Asenbaum University of Canberra, Australia, Sonia Bussu University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, Franziska Maier University of Stuttgart, Germany, Lucy J. Parry University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom, Hannah Werner, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Publication Frequency: The journal operates on a continuous article publication (CAP) model enabling articles to publish as fast as possible.

ISSN: 2634-0488 | Email | LinkedIn

Accepted Article Types

  • Research articles are full-length manuscripts that present an original contribution to the field of deliberative democracy. The length ranges from 6,000 to 8,000 words including abstract, keywords, footnotes and references. Additional tables and appendix may be published in the online version of the article and are excluded from the word count.
  • Reflections from the Field are shorter peer-reviewed articles (2,000-4,000 words) providing insights into participatory and deliberative practice that are often not captured in traditional academic publications. To be considered for public, submissions must fulfil one or more of the following criteria:
    • Chart the latest developments and practices within the field of participatory and deliberative democracy;
    • Offer a reflective account and practice-informed insights on novel methods/cases; ethical dilemmas that researchers, practitioners and participants might navigate in the field; other neglected themes that can illuminate the "behind the scenes" work of participatory and deliberative democracy;
    • Have authorship or co-authorship by or with practitioners, policymakers, activists or civil society actors.
  • Special Features are solicited, and may include commentaries interviews, conversations and roundtables.

Please note that the Journal is no longer considering Special Issues or Book Reviews for publication. An annual Special Feature is our new format that will replace Special Issues. There will be one thematic call for Special Feature per year.