The Pathfinder is now accepting submissions for its second issue to be published in January, 2010. Submissions deadline is 21 September, 2009.

Submissions are accepted from graduate students of the Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS)

or from graduates in the past year.

Guidelines

Preparation of Manuscript

• Articles or Manuscripts must be submitted in a Word format, written in 11-point and Times New Roman font, double-spaced and include page numbers.  

• Submissions must include a cover page including the title of the paper, author’s name, date and the section of the journal applied to.  In order to maintain anonymity of the author, please ensure that the author’s name does not appear on any other page. 

• All submissions must be the original work of the author and not submitted to or accepted for publication elsewhere.

• Please see Manuscript Types for word length and additional instructions regarding scope, style and format for each section.

Submission of Manuscripts

• Submissions must be sent as an email attachment to the editor at thepathfindereditor@gmail.com, and a hard copy must be delivered to the faculty advisor, Dr. Pushpa Iyer -  McCone Building, Room 124D.  

• Editorial process will begin once both copies have been received.

Manuscript Types

Research Papers

Research articles present compelling, original arguments concerning issues and topics related to the broad scope of The Pathfinder. Articles must, therefore, be written using the lens of peace and conflict studies through which it may discuss any issues, or incorporate material from any discipline. Selected articles exhibit the highest standards of scholarship in terms of research, content, and quality of writing.

Articles in The Pathfinder explore issues such as identity, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, human rights, non-violence, social change, social justice, social movements, human and environmental security, sustainable development, governance and democracy.   

• Articles must include an abstract of no more than 200 words that briefly summarize the key points and findings of the paper.  

• Authors must follow the Chicago Manual of Style (15th Edition) format for references, endnotes, style, grammar, punctuation and form.  

• Endnotes should be used for bibliographic and explanatory information and marked in numeric order after period and point of punctuation.

Submissions should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words.

War and Peace Stories

The War Stories section provides a forum for students to share their own and/or others’ experiences in conflict zones.   These stories can be personal accounts as well as stories from third party sources in which case interviews are required.  These stories must further the understanding of conflict, comment on the impact of conflict (armed or otherwise) on the population and/or reflect on the behavior of any of the parties in the conflict – the perpetrators, the victims, the silent sufferers or the peacemakers.  

Submissions should be around 1,000 words.  

Exploring Meanings

The Exploring Meanings section is devoted to student perspectives on specific topics. Through an acknowledgment of the fact that every issue holds different meanings for different people, we hope to build and foster dialogue among the very diverse community at MIIS. We require students to be very personal in this section. 

For its first issue, The Pathfinder sought responses to the question:  

                            What does wearing the hijab mean to you?

For its second issue, the Pathfinder seeks responses to the following question:

                             When and in what situations does the use of violence seem "just" and/or "justified" to you?

Submissions must not exceed 500 words.

Why Study Conflict Resolution

In this section, The Pathfinder provides students the opportunity to explain why they chose to study conflict resolution at MIIS. Students are encouraged to reflect upon personal experiences that shaped their decision as well as their goals related to the field. Selected submissions will be those that provide insight into the motivations, and reflect upon the diversity of backgrounds of conflict resolution students.

Submissions should be around 750 words. 

Field Reports

The Pathfinder also seeks to share student voices in its Field Report section. Students are encouraged to write about their internships, IPSS work or other field experiences gained during their enrollment at MIIS. Field reports should speak to the MIIS community reflecting on the knowledge gained, the nature of tasks handled during the internship, the experience of working in an organization, cultural issues encountered and comments on whether their academic experience prepared them for the challenges in the field. Preference will be given to accounts of actual involvement in the field as opposed to those which are about "administrative" work.

Submissions should be around 750 words.

Translation of a Conceptual Paper from the Field

Every issue of The Pathfinder also includes a conceptual paper from the field translated into one of the languages offered by the Translation and Interpretation School of the Institute.

Book and Film Reviews

The Pathfinder also features two other sections; book and film reviews.

Criteria for book or film selection:

• Related to conflict, peace, human and environmental security 

• Biographies, Autobiographies, Case Studies, Academic 

• Released in the last two years

Both book and film reviews should be around 750 words.  

Editorial Process

• Submissions are initially screened by The Pathfinder’s editorial staff.  Those that meet the requirements listed above are sent to members of The Pathfinder’s editorial review board according to their areas of expertise.  

• The editorial review board  comments on the content and on how well the topic fits within the journal’s mission. In order to ensure privacy and potential conflicts of interests, all editorial board members will remain anonymous until the publication goes online.  

• Authors will be notified whether their papers have been selected within approximately three weeks of submission.  

• If accepted, authors are asked to make such editorial and research additions or deletions as recommended by the editorial board and in consultation with the faculty advisor, editorial staff as well as the author.  

• Once accepted submissions are edited for content, they are then sent for copyediting. Authors will be expected to work closely with copy editors.   

The final decision to publish an article lies solely with the Editorial Staff.

Copyright

Pursuant to Section 201(C) of the federal copyright law, 17 U.S.C. § 101-914 (1988), the rights for each individual contribution to a collective work are initially those of the author.  The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies requires that each author assigns copyright ownership to The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies and the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to grant The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies and the Monterey Institute of International Studies the authority to copyright all materials published therein.

In recognition of each author’s interest for the future use of their contribution to The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, every author retains the right to reuse or republish their work based on the conditions that 6 months have passed since the original publication of the work in The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies and that any reuse or republication is accompanied by the notice: “Originally published in The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, Copyright [insert date and issue/volume number].  All rights reserved by The Pathfinder: A Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies and the Monterey Institute for International Studies. For reprint permission, please contact the Editor."