About GJAA

The Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs is the flagship annual publication of the Asian Studies Program at Georgetown University. Established in 2014, the Journal aims to provide a forum for scholars and practitioners in the field of Asian affairs to exchange ideas and publish research that further the understanding of the world’s largest and most populous continent.

Advised by a dedicated group of Georgetown University faculty and outside experts, the Journal covers a wide range of topics pertinent to Central, Northeast, Southeast, and South Asia. It publishes policy viewpoints (1,000-3,000 words) as well as peer-reviewed research articles (5,000-7,000 words) written by both young and experienced scholars from around the world. The Journal combines policy prescriptions and academic research on Asia, reflecting the goals and commitments of Georgetown University and the School of Foreign Service.

The Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs is archived in DigitalGeorgetown and indexed in the Bibliography of Asian Studies (BAS) and Google Scholar.

Aims

The Journal‘s mission is threefold:

1. We seek to offer our readers a wide range of perspectives on contemporary Asian affairs by giving voice to leading scholars and policymakers in the field
2. We seek to promote Asia-focused social science research at both undergraduate and graduate levels by publishing extraordinary works of young scholars alongside the writings of renowned experts
3. We seek to play a role in shaping the future of intellectual discourse on Asia.

Scope

The Journal welcomes original social science research papers written on issues relevant to politics, security, economy, culture, and society of contemporary Asia, including Pakistan and Afghanistan. “Contemporary” is understood broadly as recent, but not necessarily as current. We are pleased to consider articles with historical background sections so long as such analyses are crucial for advancing core arguments.

Note: All Policy Forum articles and interviews are solicited by the Journal’s Editorial Board, and are therefore closed to submissions.

Notice to Contributors

Before submitting an article for consideration, please carefully review the Journal‘s aims and scope.

Articles submitted to the Journal must not be plagiarized, copyrighted, or under review elsewhere.

Research Articles

• Document: Manuscripts must be typewritten and double-spaced in Microsoft Word, with 1-inch/2.5-centimeter margins on all sides.
• Clear Research Question: Authors must ensure that their research questions are stated upfront, clear, and concise. See a model example below for expectations.
• Clear Argument: Additionally, authors must make their arguments discernible and state them at the beginning. See a model example below for expectations.
• Logical Methodologies: Authors must provide understandable methodologies that support their core argument and structurally make sense.
• Length: Manuscripts should be 5,000-7,000 words in length.
• Font: Please use Times New Roman, 12-point size.
• Style: Authors must follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed.
• Citations: All citations must be formatted as footnotes. Please also include a full bibliography at the end.
• Abstract: Authors must include an abstract (100-200 words) that effectively and concisely summarizes his/her study.

Example of a clear research question:

It is important before submitting your research manuscript that your paper addresses a question that needs to be properly researched. You want to make sure that you avoid “why” questions as the above example from Scribbr highlights as ascertaining the underlying cause is difficult and opens your research to scrutiny. It is important to have a question that is narrowly focused to ensure that you avoid typical manuscript pitfalls.

Source: McCombes, Shona. “10 Research Question Examples to Guide your Research Project.” Course Hero. Updated October 19, 2023. https://www.scribbr.com/research-process/research-question-examples/.

Example of a clear research question, argument, and logical methodology:

Source: Abbondanza, Gabriele. “Whither the Indo-Pacific? Middle power strategies from Australia, South Korea and Indonesia.” International Affairs, Volume 98, Issue 2, (March 2022): Pages 403–421. https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiab231.

SUBMISSION DEADLINE FOR ALL RESEARCH PAPERS AND BOOK REVIEW: JANUARY 26, 2026

Submissions should be emailed to gjaa@georgetown.edu as MS Word documents. Please do not submit in PDF format. Authors should include a short bio in the email text, but must avoid any self-identification in the manuscript as we send our articles out for anonymous review.

Editorial Process

The Journal reserves the right to accept or reject submissions. Due to a high volume of submissions, we are unable to send every manuscript out for external review.

By submitting content to the Journal, the author agrees to transfer of copyright and must not send the manuscript to elsewhere until a final decision is released.

The Journal operates with the following editorial process:

• All submissions are subject to anonymous initial screening by the Editorial Board. Manuscripts that violate the Journal‘s submission guidelines specified above, lack sophisticated social science research design, exhibit notable grammatical and/or stylistic mistakes, rely on inappropriate sources, and/or carry no relevance to contemporary Asian affairs are rejected at this point.
• Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are sent to faculty and external reviewers. Typically, this anonymous review process takes about 4-6 weeks. Articles approved by the Journal‘s reviewers are tentatively accepted for publication, conditioned on the proper revision of the piece along the lines suggested by both the reviewers and editors. Please note that publication is not fully guaranteed until such revisions are made and approved by the Journal‘s editors.
• Editorial exchanges occur between the editors and the authors in order to improve the argument, structure, and style of the articles.
• Copy edited drafts are submitted to the Editor-in-Chief for final review.

Please email all inquiries to gjaa@georgetown.edu.

Advertise

The Georgetown Journal of Asian Affairs is an excellent venue for advertising. The Journal highlights advertisements from a wide range of organizations, including academic programs, publications, NGOs, student groups, and small and large businesses. The Journal, which is available in both print and electronic copies to attract wide readership across the globe, provides advertisers a great opportunity to reach a well-educated, well-informed audience with deep interests in Asia.

The Journal accepts paid advertisements. Special rates are available to the members of the Georgetown University community (please email gjaa@georgetown.edu). All funds raised through advertisements will be used to support the production of the Journal.