The ECPS Working Paper Series

The ECPS’ Working Paper Series (WPS) plays a key role in the dissemination of knowledge developed by ECPS-associated researchers. These working papers are intended to provide new perspectives on the rise of populism. The ECPS/WPS targets both practitioners and researchers, who are expected to produce readable articles as well as careful research and analysis.

Working papers must add something new to the field and be based on new research. This research may, for instance, include the discovery of new facts or the critical rethinking of existing positions; offer feasible, applicable policy prescriptions; or a combination of these in an attempt to trigger scholarly debate on the paper’s thesis. Additionally, papers will be chosen that can be strengthened through feedback. The editors will consider submissions from affiliated researchers as well as unsolicited submissions from authors working in a relevant research area. The steps to publication in the Working Paper series are as follows:

  • ECPS/WPS seeks to publish the key contributions of ECPS’s research programs in an open access format. With our other publication categories, ECPS considers WPS as a key benchmark of its scope and quality.
  • Working papers commonly take two forms: they may be pre-prints of work submitted to and published by academic journals; or they may be works in progress for which no other publication has yet been found. Both are welcomed. Working papers may also be directly commissioned by ECPS or otherwise solicited.
  • The Working Paper series – after being reviewed by the ECPS editors, who determine whether the papers fall within the scope of the series – is edited by the ECPS editorial board, consisting of investigators and researchers. Submissions are sent to reviewers with appropriate disciplinary expertise.
  • The review process aims to improve the quality of the work and ensure the relevance of the paper to ECPS’s core research interests. The editors reserve the right to reject a submission following revision, if it is not deemed to meet the requisite criteria. Authors should provide the maximum clarity and accessibility possible in their submissions.
  • Authors should submit final versions of their papers according to ECPS’s style requirements. Papers should not require any grammatical, stylistic, or referencing edits after submission

ECPS is delighted to publish any commentaries which will accompany the working papers. Commentaries should translate findings into a non-academic, policy-relevant language to be read by a common audience.

Technical Requirements

  • Working papers should be between 7,000 – 10,000 words long and must avoid unnecessary details and repetitions.
  • Working papers should highlight the main issues, problems, and challenges associated with the topic and must provide tips for overcoming them.
  • Working papers should be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word.
  • Tables and figures should be placed at the end of the paper and should be referenced in the text by number and placement (i.e., see Table 1, following References) or (Tables and Figures follow Reference).

Style Requirements & Referencing Rules with Samples

Authors are required to cite references according to the American Psychological Association (APA) style, which uses an author–date system of in-text citation with an accompanying list of references that is organized alphabetically according to author names. When citing a standard or guideline, the author name is replaced with the name of the organization.

Sample (fictive): Aiming to contribute to the growing scholarly research on populism, raise public awareness and provide practical recommendations to policy makers, the ECPS monitors the populism trends across the world by observing and reporting on the populist political parties, movements and actors (Mulinari and Neergaard, 2014). In order to follow the impact of populism trends on de-democratization and authoritarianization in national context, the ECPS prepares country profiles as scholarly texts in 1500-2000 words (Jungar, 2016). In order to follow the impact of populism trends on de-democratization (BBC, 2018) and authoritarianization in national context, the ECPS prepares country profiles as scholarly texts in 1500-2000 words (Helin, 2009)

Scholarly Journal Article

Mulinari, Diana & Neergaard, Anders. (2014). “We are Sweden Democrats because we care for others: Exploring racisms in the Swedish extreme right.” European Journal of Women’s Studies, 21, 43–56.

Book chapter

Jungar, A. C. (2016), “The Sweden Democrats.” In: R. Heinisch and O. Mazzoleni (eds). Understanding Populist Party Organisation: The Radical Right in Western Europe. London: Palgrave. 189-219.

Book

Yegenoglu, M. (1998). Colonial Fantasies: Towards a Feminist Reading of Orientalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Newspaper – (news piece)

— (2018). “Sweden Democrats tap into immigration fears.” BBC. Sep. 25, 2018. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-29202793 (accessed on June 9, 2020).

Newspaper (featured & columns)

Helin, Jan. (2009). “Åkesson visar sitt sanna jag.” Aftonbladet. Okt.19, 2009. https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/yvzd6e/akesson-visar-sitt-sanna-jag (accessed on June 15, 2020).

Westerberg, Bengt. (2016). “Vad menade du egentligen, Jimmie Åkesson?” SVT Nyheter. November 17, 2016. https://www.svt.se/opinion/bengt-westerberg-om-sd (accessed on June 9, 2020).