The Balsillie Papers is a unique new publication that offers policymakers, the media, the public, and academics, a window into what some of our world’s brightest minds think about the urgent global issues and crises affecting our world. In order to be accepted for publication, each Balsillie Paper must be clear, concise, and deliver new and critical insights into the complex dynamics underpinning global governance and international affairs today.
The scholarly rigour of citing peer-reviewed sources moves The Balsillie Papers beyond op-eds, and yet they are more flexible, timely, and concise than a longer full-length academic article.
The Balsillie Papers are designed to effectively and efficiently mobilize knowledge that creates lasting impacts, benefitting humanity and the world.
All submissions are evidence-based and face a stringent process of double-blind peer-review.
The Balsillie School of International Affairs thanks you for considering publishing your work in The Balsillie Papers, and we hope to receive your manuscript at [email protected].
Editorial Housekeeping
Submissions should range between 2500 words (minimum) and 4000 words (maximum). Word limits will be strictly enforced. These limits exclude references, graphs, charts, and tables.
All material must be scholarly, original, and must not currently be submitted for publication elsewhere whilst under consideration by the Balsillie School of International Affairs. Authors must not post their submission elsewhere, online or in print, whilst the submission is under consideration.
All submissions must cite relevant scholarly sources to support their claims.
References must be in the form of endnotes, using the citation format of the Chicago Manual of Style (Available at https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html)
Authors cannot submit a manuscript for consideration if they have had a Balsillie Paper published within the past 6 months.
Unfortunately, we are not able to publish every paper submitted. Rejection of a paper does not necessarily indicate poor quality of scholarship but may instead result from an incorrect ‘fit’ with the mandate or ethos of the publication.
Publication Ethics
The Balsillie Papers is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and ensuring the integrity of the scholarly record. The journal follows the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and adheres to best practices in scholarly publishing.
Duties of Editors: Editors evaluate submitted manuscripts exclusively on academic merit and relevance to the journal’s scope, without discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, nationality, or political philosophy.
Originality and Plagiarism: Authors must ensure their work is original and properly cited. Plagiarism in any form constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or personal conflicts of interest.
Handling of Ethical Misconduct: The Balsillie Papers takes allegations of misconduct seriously and will investigate any reported unethical behavior. If misconduct is confirmed (e.g., plagiarism, data falsification), the journal will make the concerns known to the author(s), seek clarifications, and upon review of those clarifications, it may issue retractions, corrections, or bans on future submissions.
Plagiarism: Any manuscript found to contain plagiarised content will be rejected immediately.
Retraction and Correction Policy: Retractions will be issued for articles with serious ethical breaches, data fabrication, or major errors.
Peer Review Process
Publication of all manuscripts are subject to double-blind peer reviews conducted by external domain experts, who are not part of the Balsillie Papers’ editorial staff. Reviews consist of accept (without changes), conditional accept (with minor changes), revise and resubmit or reject. Review verdicts are qualified by reasons and feedback to the author.
Authors are required to amend their papers in accordance with the comments and requests of the peer-reviewers.
Ownership and Management
The Balsillie Papers are owned, managed and published by the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
Generative AI Policy
Submissions must be the original work of the applicant, and the use of generative AI to produce content is strictly prohibited. Authors are responsible for ensuring that information included in their proposals is accurate and complete and that all sources are appropriately acknowledged and referenced. To maintain academic integrity, authors must also declare whether they used generative AI tools in the writing process. Any breaches of academic integrity are the sole responsibility of the author.
Submissions may be subject to review using AI detection software to ensure compliance. Submissions that fail to meet the originality requirement will be rejected.
Copyright and Licensing
The intellectual property in the materials contained in this website are owned by or licensed to the Balsillie School of International Affairs and are protected by applicable copyright and trademark law. We grant our users permission to download the materials for personal, non-commercial transitory use. Any distribution or reproduction of articles originally published in the Balsillie Papers must include proper citation of the original source.
Publishing Schedule
The Balsillie Papers is a rolling journal, i.e., articles are published as soon as manuscripts are reviewed and accepted for publication. Six articles are published in each volume.
Open Access Policy
The Balsillie Papers is an open-access journal, ensuring that all content is freely available to users worldwide.
Metrics
The Balsillie Papers maintains a range of journal performance metrics to assess its reach, engagement, and scholarly impact.
Download and Access Statistics: Article views, downloads, and readership trends are measured from the backend of the journal website.
Online Analytics: Online engagement, including social media mentions, news coverage, and academic discussions are tracked by the social media coordinator.
Author and Institutional Impact: Contributions from a diverse range of global scholars and institutions are reflective of the journal’s performance.
Indexing: The journal continuously works toward inclusion in major academic indexing services to enhance discoverability and scholarly recognition.
User Privacy: Website metrics are measured in a way that respects online user privacy and is compliant with regulations such as the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and the UK's Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
Archiving
The Balsillie Papers are digitally archived through the University of Waterloo’s institutional repository UWSpace.
Revenue Sources
The Balsillie Papers is published by the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA), an equal collaboration among the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), the University of Waterloo, and Wilfrid Laurier University. The journal is institutionally funded and does not rely on advertising, subscriptions, or author fees. This funding model ensures editorial independence and supports the journal’s commitment to open-access publishing.
The Balsillie School of International Affairs thanks you for considering publishing your work in The Balsillie Papers, and we hope to receive your manuscript at [email protected].