Submission Requirements

Types and Length of Manuscripts

The journal carries :

• Original research articles (6,000–8,000 words)
• Review articles (6,000–8,000 words)
• Book reviews (1,000–2,000 words)

Comprehensive Security Studies does not accept manuscripts simultaneously under review elsewhere.

Language

The journal uses British English.

Structure of Manuscript

Authors are required to ensure that their manuscripts fully comply with the journal’s prescribed style guidelines, as submissions that fail to meet these requirements will not be considered for publication. The main text should be single-spaced, with a one-line gap between paragraphs.

Authors are also responsible for ensuring that their manuscripts are clearly written and academically coherent so that the editor and reviewers can easily understand the content. Therefore, it is recommended that papers be reviewed by professional language editors prior to submission. The journal follows a footnote system, although the use of footnotes should be limited to a minimum.

Author’s Name

On the title page file, the author’s name should appear immediately below the title on the first page, aligned to the left and presented in italics. This should be followed by the author’s designation and institutional affiliation in roman typeface, along with the author’s email address.

Abstract and Keywords

Each article must include an abstract of approximately 150 words along with five keywords.

Headings

All titles, headings, and subheadings should be aligned to the left, written in headline style, and should not be numbered. First-level headings must be in bold.

India and the African Union’s Engagement Through IAFS: Challenges of Strengthening Partnership

The text. Second level headings are bold italic.

Indian Engagement Through IAFS The text. 

In-Text Citations

Published Works with Authors

The author-date referencing style should be used. In-text citations should be indicated in the text by giving the author’s name, with the year of publication in brackets, e.g. Gieg (2023) or (Gieg, 2023) or (Beri, 2024: 115; Dubey and Rajwar, 2025: 25), (Parekh et al, 2003: 58).

Interviews

For interviews in which the respondent’s identity is concealed, citations should appear in the format: (Interview, 25.10.2025). If the respondent’s identity is disclosed, the citation should include the respondent’s name, such as: (Sudha, Interview, 25.10.2025). In cases where endnotes are used, the citation should provide the respondent’s name (where disclosure is permitted), designation or position, place of interview, and the date on which the interview was conducted..

Newspapers

(Indian Express, 11.10.2024)

Footnotes

The journal follows a footnote system rather than endnotes. References to archival materials should be presented in footnotes in a manner that is complete, concise, and clearly understandable. Authors may also include brief acknowledgements in the first numbered footnote.

References

All sources cited within the text must be fully listed in the reference section at the end of the manuscript. The reference list should begin two line spaces below the conclusion of the article. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all bibliographic details are accurate and complete. References must follow the prescribed standard format:

Books

Beri, R. 2000. India Africa Building Synergies in Peace, Security and Development, New Delhi: Pentagon Press LLP.

Edited Book

Dubey, A. and S. Rajwar, eds. 2025. Diaspora in Development: The Comparative Indian Experience. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

Chapters in Edited Book

Mishra, V. 2022. ‘Theorising the troubled black waters’, in Bhardwaj, A. and Misrahi-Barak, J. eds. Kala Pani Crossings: Revisiting 19th Century Migrations from India’s Perspective. New York: Routledge.

Articles

Laely, T. 2026. ‘Restitution of Cultural Heritage – an African or rather a European Affair? The Case of the African Great Lakes Region’, the African Review, 53 (1-2): 1-26.

Dissertation

Odanga, R. 2024. ‘Anticipating Anticolonialism: A Reappraisal of African Nationalism in Kenya, 1890 – 1978’ Ph.D. Dissertation: Howard University.

Newspapers

A list of newspapers and magazines referred to, with their place of publication, should be as follows: Business Standard. (09.02.2026). ‘Mauritius PM calls Modi ahead of India visit, pledges to deepen ties’, https://www.business-standard.com/world-news/mauritius-pm-ramgoolam-calls-pmmodi-126020901521_1.html accessed: 11.04.2026.

Official Publications

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2005. Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2005: The Quality Imperative. Paris: UNESCO. 

African Union. 2015. Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. Addis Ababa: African Union.

Unpublished Sources

Devi, R. 2020. ‘Women and Cultural Identity in the Indian Diaspora’, (unpublished fieldwork). Curepipe.

Website References

UNDP, 2025 https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2025 accessed 12.4.2026.

Interviews

Interview with T.S. Trimurti, Former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations, The Hindu, 16.9.2025, Chennai, India.

Italics

Italics should be employed for the titles of publications, including books and journals, and also for foreign-language terms that are not in common usage.

Per Cent

The term ‘per cent’ should be written out when the preceding number appears in words, for example, ‘five per cent’. The symbol ‘%’ should be used when the figure is expressed numerically, such as ‘5.1%’.

Quotations

All quotations should be enclosed within quotation marks unless they are presented as indented block quotations. Quotations exceeding three lines should be formatted as block quotes: indented, singlespaced, and without quotation marks. Single quotation marks are to be used only for quotations appearing within another quotation.

For example, as Vijay Mishra (2022: 20) stated: ‘… the Black Waters of the indenture imaginary cannot be disentangled from its colonial middlemen’.

Quotations may also be introduced in a sentence format, such as: As Mishra (2022: 20) explained: …

Long quotations consisting of three or more full lines should appear as separate block quotations, indented from the main text, without quotation marks, and separated by one blank line above and below the passage.

Figures

Tables, figures, and illustrations should be designed in a way that allows them to be understood independently of the main text. If electronic submission of figures is not possible, authors should provide them in a finalized format suitable for reproduction. For printing purposes, images and illustrations must be of high quality, with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi.