How to Contribute to the Hub

Global Souths Hub is a free to access news and resource platform that encourages debate and fosters collaborations in the field of Global South Studies. We welcome contributions from all who have knowledge in the area, including early-career researchers, students, practitioners, policy experts, journal authors, aspiring journal authors and bloggers.

1. What topics do we cover?

We are looking for interesting and informed articles that take original angles on subjects by including personal experiences and thought-provoking analysis. 

Global Souths Hub covers a vast range of topics including politics, social issues, economics, development, gender, health, the environment, art and culture. 

We encourage contributions to the site that stimulate debate in;

• art, culture and sport
• aid, trade and finance
• climate change and environmental sustainability
• colonialism and postcolonialism
• critical political economy
• democracy and populism
• development and global inequalities
• education, publishing and media
• extractivism and resource conflict
• gender and sexuality
• global health
• human rights and international law
• international relations
• peacebuilding
• poverty and famine
• race and ethnicity
• refugees, migration and labour
• science, technology and policy
• social justice
• war, disasters and intervention

2. What kind of items do we publish?

We publish a wide range of formats, including: interviews, summaries of academic articles, short commentaries, lectures/talks, conference write-ups, op-eds, reviews, features, essays, listicles, photo essays, videos, podcasts and more.

Check out our ‘how to’ guides:

• Write up an event for our blog
• Write a blog post about your journal article
• Make a video about your research

3. Who is our audience?

Our audience are global and diverse. Our articles are read by academics, early-career researchers and those with an interest in the field. We publish articles that do not assume specialised knowledge or use unnecessary academic jargon.

4. What to think about when writing a blog for us?

Bloggers should please follow our editorial guidance below:

• Be concise: Make sure you translate your arguments into succinct points and use links to relevant sources. Blogs should be between 800 to 1,500 words in length. Please use hyperlinks to provide evidence for the points you make as we do not publish footnotes.
• Engage: Choose a thought-provoking title. Your piece should spark curiosity. Storytelling and key quotes can help bring a story to life.
• Avoid using jargon and write in a conversational style: Please avoid technical language unless completely necessary, and explain any specialised language.
• Make it visual: Relevant photos or videos adds value to your article and we generally require our writers to supply us with a high quality banner image. Please make sure you have the appropriate proof of permissions obtained or the photos have the appropriate copyright licence. 
• Be accurate: As you would with an academic article, please double-check your facts and use appropriate grammar and British English Spelling.
• Be personable: Provide your own unique perspective on something you care about, write with an active rather than a passive voice and don’t be afraid to use personal pronouns such as I, you or we.
• Choose subjects that are topical and relevant: Think about the bigger picture, and whether the topic will resonate with a broader audience who might not be familiar with the subject area. 
• Original work: Collaborations and co-authored pieces are welcome, however all content submitted to us should be your own work. We generally publish articles that are not be published elsewhere, but may make exceptions on a case-by-case basis if appropriate permissions are provided.

Submissions that are critical are welcomed, but the language and tone must be balanced and respectful throughout.

If you want further advice, visit the Taylor and Francis site to learn how to write a journal article and explore their page on how to write an academic blog post. 

5. Do I have to be previously published in an academic journal to write for you?

Not necessarily! While the blog has been set up by the editors of two academic journals, Third World Quarterly (TWQ) and Central Asian Survey (CAS), you do not have to be an existing author to contribute to the Global Souths news site.

However, if you have been previously published in TWQ or CAS or another journal, we would love to hear from you. We welcome short posts that summarise your article’s research.

6. Do we have a word limit?

Our blog posts are typically 800 words, but we publish shorter (400 words) and occasionally longer posts (1,500+ words). We rarely publish pieces that are over 2,500 words unless they are of particular importance.

7. Should I submit my blog post pitch first?

If you would like to sound out your idea first, you are welcome to submit a blog post pitch. You can reach us through our contact form or via the [email protected] email address.

Please include the following information in your pitch email to us:

• Your contact information: Your full name, your email address, your affiliation (if applicable) and any relevant social media accounts. 
• Your proposed writing format, elevator pitch and a potential title: Is your piece an interview, opinion piece or journal summary etc.? What’s the topic? Who will be interested? Why now? Who will you talk to? What research have you done on the subject?
• Your experience: Why are you best placed to write this piece? You can also include another writing example if you have one.

8. How should I submit a blog post?

We also accept full blog posts, but we may ask for edits. Please submit your blog post as a word document (.doc and .docx). Submissions should fulfil the following requirements:

• Include your credentials (for example, your full name, affiliation, institution or company and your bio)
• Include any funding information that supported your work
• Your headshot (.png or .jpg with name) in high-resolution (600 DPI for greyscale images and 300 DPI minimum for colour images)
• Some suggestions for images (preferably 2-3 images) to accompany the blog, ideally one you might have taken yourself or has an appropriate copyright licence to use. Include image credit in your submission. The images should be in high-resolution (typically between between 100K and 60K)
• Your Linkedin and X handles if you would like to be tagged in our social media posts

9. When will you hear back from? How long is the process? 

We are a small but dedicated team and we endeavour to respond promptly to emails. Our policy is to respond to within 5 working days, but this timescale will depend on the blog content as some pieces may require more reflection than others. We can not guarantee the publication of every article submitted to us, but we will always endeavour to get back to you with a helpful response.

Each article is reviewed by at least three members of the team and in certain circumstances we will contact an external reviewer for support.

10. Can other outlets republish my published article?

Please note that the Hub operates under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International license and our posts can be republished in print and online platforms without our permission being requested, as long as the piece is credited correctly.

We ask those who cite the Hub to:

• Include a clear attribution to the author(s).
• Include a clear attribution to Global Souths Hub with a link to the original (“This article was originally published on Global Souths Hub [link to original]”).
• Ensure it is published for non-commercial reasons only.
• Ensure the text is not changed.
• Ensure that the article is free to read.

If you have an original piece of research, and would prefer to submit an academic article for either of the journals, please refer to the journal websites (Third World Quarterly and Central Asian Survey) or the ‘Writing your Paper’ author services section.