Contemporary Politics and Society

The Contemporary Politics and Society section provides a forum for critical inquiry into politics, its social roots, and its consequences. We understand politics in its broadest sense—as conflicts over the shape and future of society, which unfold across parliaments and civil society, workplaces and managerial offices, party structures and bureaucracies, NGOs and government ministries, courtrooms and communities, the military and the university, national and global economies, social movements and families.

We invite scholarship that transcends the conventional divide between international relations and comparative politics. Recognizing that the boundaries between domestic and global politics are inherently porous, this section welcomes work that examines international interactions without losing sight of local and national dynamics, and that accounts for national differences while remaining attentive to transnational forces.

We are particularly interested in research that brings hidden, marginalized, or misunderstood political spaces into academic focus. The section encourages submissions that combine empirical research—whether that is fieldwork, case studies, or other methods—with critical theoretical reflection. We welcome papers that interrogate inequalities of class, race, nation, and gender; that explore transformations in political contention, thought, and discourse; and that engage with radical visions and alternatives for a just society.

The section also values theoretically rich and empirically informed review articles. Above all, we seek work that matters: work that speaks to pressing questions of our time, prompts serious reflection, and engages both scholars and the broader public in important and provocative ways.

We particularly encourage submissions on various dimensions of the changing world order and studies of China and other non-Western countries. Authors from those regions are strongly invited to submit their work to the Contemporary Politics and Society section.