Journal information

The Policy & Politics journal, which has been publishing for over 50 years, focuses on key works in the intersection of policy and politics.

Policy & Politics invites submissions that make a theoretical, conceptual or methodological contribution guided by two principles: (1) comprehensive coverage of the politics of public policy and (2) inclusivity in research approaches.

Comprehensive coverage of the politics of public policy:

Policy & Politics encompasses scholarship that focuses on any aspect of the policy process and discusses the broader implications for politics, power and democratic processes of the research. We are particularly interested in research that examines public policy issues comparatively; seeks to advance established policy theories and to promote new theories; spans the micro and the macro in the study of policy and politics; deals with all substantive subfields in the study of public policy; and we welcome studies of public policy that span the world. As part of this effort, we look for scholarship that builds on and contributes to existing foundations of knowledge about public policy, as well as innovates and takes risks in breaking into new frontiers of what we know about public policy.

Inclusivity in research approaches:

Policy & Politics seeks scholarship from different epistemological and ontological orientations and from different methodological perspectives, including quantitative and qualitative approaches and interpretive methods. The journal is also interested in scholarship that makes methodological advancements in the study of public policy. Policy & Politics does not align itself to any disciplinary perspective and particularly is open to scholarship that bridges political science, public policy, public administration and management, non-profit studies, social policy and other perspectives. Rather, we encourage scholarship that challenges any dominant disciplinary assumptions in the study of public policy and that offers better alternatives.

The Policy & Politics team is committed to an editorial process that is as quick as possible, fair and thoughtful, constructive, and tailored to the betterment of the scholarship under review. Given our embrace of the comprehensive coverage of public policy and diversity in research approaches, we recognise and accept diverse criteria in gauging and improving scholarship. We also adhere to some simple criteria expected of all published work including: (1) publicness and transparency in all aspects of its scholarship; and (2) substantial contributions to our understanding of public policy and/or its research approaches.

For more information, please visit the journal homepage at

Policy & Politics | Bristol University Press (bristoluniversitypressdigital.com).