1.                  Author Guidelines

A.   Submissions

The Pan-African Conversations: An International Journal publishes two annual issues in April and in September and a special edition in between will be considered from time to time. 

Issues are available as open access. The journal invites manuscripts all throughout the year, submitted online through its website in two versions, one being anonymous. Research articles and essays must be between 5,000 and 7,000 words long. Commentary and debate articles must be 3,000 to 4,000 words responding to a debate or a topical issue. All submissions must be prepared according to the author’s guidelines. We encourage the submission of book reviews of up to 1,500 words in length. Longer review articles that debate the book will also be considered at 2,000 to 4,000 words in length.

Special editions are considered once a year. A proposal must outline the edition’s focus, its potential contribution to debates, the number of articles planned, confirm double-blind peer reviews and timelines. It must include the profile of the guest editor(s).

A.    Title Page

The title page of the submission should include the following details in this order: the title of the article, author’(s) full name (s), affiliation, and email address (es), all aligned in the centre of the page. This information should only appear on the title page of one of the versions of the submission. The other version without these details is called the anonymous version.

B.    Title and Headings

The title of the article should appear at the top of the title page. The title must be in bold, Times New Roman, size 14pt font and aligned in the centre of the page. The article title and headings must only capitalize key terms in the title.

E.g. “The Future is Digital Politics: the Case of Sao Tome”

Headings in the body of the text must be highlighted in bold and numbered (1,2,3) in size 12pt font. Headings must be descriptive, short and meaningful. Sub-headings must be italicized and sub-numbered correspondingly: 1.1; 1.2; 2.1, 2.2 etc.

E.g.

1.    Digitisation or Degradation?

• Contestations over digitization

C.    Abstracts

Below the article title, author (s) full name (s) and affiliations, add a short abstract not exceeding more than 250 words. The article should state the main research problem/ argument, major findings, and conclusion(s) and should not be italicised or indented.

E.g. Digital technologies are changing almost everything about modern societies. Their impacts on economies and labour have been a subject of panicked discussion for a while. On the continent, the discussion has largely been limited to the bearing that the digital divide or digital marginalisation will have on the continent’s political economy. But it is clear now that there is a whole lot of complex politics at the back of digitisation, from the politics of decision-making and policy-making on this to the implications of digitisation on political practices and experiences. Many questions have thus emerged on this. This paper discusses the ramifications of digital tools on the process of citizen engagement with government in the small island state of Sao Tome with marked disparities in access to technologies.

Keywords: Digitalisation, Digital Politics, Africa, Sao Tome, Citizen Participation

D.    Font

Submissions must be in Times New Roman (Regular) and size 12pt font, apart from headings that must be size 14pt font.

A.    Language

For spelling, kindly use the Oxford dictionary (UK English)

E.g. The political campaigns on the island energise youth formations instead of energize…The challenge is how political parties can catalyse this, instead of catalize

B.    Numbers

Kindly write the numbers 1 to 9 in words i.e. one to nine, thereafter10, 11, 12 etc; million;

2 billion, 4 kilos, 7 hectares (that is, numbers in figures before units of measurement).

C.    Dates

Dates must appear as follows: 3 October 2021. Use 2020s instead of 20’s or 2020’s.

D.    Abbreviations

Use full words with abbreviations within brackets the first time and thereafter use abbreviations. No full stops should be used in abbreviations e.g., BRICS, NDB, Dr, MS.

E.    Italics

Use italics only when mentioning the titles of published books or names of periodicals in the body of the text.

F.    Acknowledgments

Acknowledge sources of funding or other support or permissions granted in a short statement under a headline titled “Funding Acknowledgment” at the end of the article, just before the list of references.

G.   Illustrations

Do not use illustrations from other sources that require copyright. Rather compile your own graphs and tables. Number the bold titles of illustrations using the 1, 2, 3 format.

H.    Fair Use

The author is responsible for understanding and following the principles that govern the ‘fair use’ of quotations and illustrations as well as for obtaining written permission to publish, where necessary. Accuracy in citations and references is also the author’s responsibility.

I.     Referencing

To avoid plagiarism, which violates research ethics, provide appropriate credit to your sources by adding author-date in-text citations for direct quotations and ideas, credit the originators of thoughts and ideas. If you model a study after one conducted by someone else, give credit to the author of the original study.

The reference style of the journal is the Chicago manual Author-Date style. No footnotes and endnotes, but in-text citation and a list of references at the end. See the following examples.

Book

In-text citation:

1. Magubane (1987, 12) …. At the end of a sentence (Magubane 1987, 12)
2. Grazer and Fishman (2015. 12) said ….. (Grazer and Fishman 2015, 12).

List of References:

1. Magubane, 1987. The Ties That Bind: African-American Consciousness of Africa. New Jersey: Africa World Press.

Grazer, B. and C. Fishman. 2015. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Chapter / Section in an edited book

In-text citation: Mafeje (2011) … (Mafeje 2011)

Reference:

Mafeje, Archie. 2011. “Africanity: A Combative Ontology.” In The Postcolonial Turn, edited by Rene Devisch and Francis B. Nyamnjoh, 31–41. Bameda and Leiden: Langaa Publishers.

Edited book

In-text citation: (Devisch and Nyamnjoh 2011)

Reference:

Devisch, Rene and Francis B. Nyamnjoh. ed. 2011. The Postcolonial Turn. Bameda and Leiden: Langaa Publishers.

Translated book

In-text citation: (Fanon 2008)

Reference:

Fanon, F. 2008. Black skin, white masks. Translated by Richard Philcox. New York: Grove press.

E-book

Include the URL or database. If no numbers, cite the chapter number, section title or other number showing in the text.

In-text citation: (Wa Thiong’o 2009, Chap. 1); JanMohamed (2005, 1576); Goody (2006, doc. 13).

Reference:

1. Wa Thiong’o, 2009. Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance. New York: Basic Civitas Books. Kindle
2. JanMohamed, Abdul R. 2005. The Death-Bound-Subject: Richard Wright’s Archaeology of Death. Durham, NC: Duke University https://www.dukeupress.edu/The-Death-Bound-Subject.
3. Goody, 2006. The Theft of History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Afrol Database

4. Journal Article

   For articles consulted online include the URL at the end of the reference.

   In-text citation: (Musekiwa and Chatiza 2015, 120), (Mutua 2001: 201-211)

   References:

   1. Musekiwa, Norbet and Kudzai 2015. “Rise in Resident Associational Life in Response to Service Delivery Decline by Urban Councils in Zimbabwe.” Commonwealth Journal of Local Governance 16 (2): 120-136.
   2. Mutua, Makau. 2001. “Savages, Victims, and Saviors: The Metaphor of Human Rights.” Harvard International Law Journal 42 (1): 201-211. https://digitalcommons.law.buffalo.edu/journal_ articles/570/.

   3. News article / magazine

      In-text citation: (Southal 2019). (Manjoo 2020, 3)

      References:

      1. Southal, 2019. “Robert Mugabe: as Divisive in Death as He was in Life.” The Conversation. September 6. https://theconversation.com/robert-mugabe-as-divisive-in-death-as-he-was-in-life-108103.
      Manjoo, Ari. 2020. “SADC Payment Integration System.” Business Day, March 12.

   4. Theses/dissertation

      Simbiri, Mariam Anna. 2020. “Creeping Presidentialism in Tanzania and Lessons for Mozambique.” PhD Thesis, University of Malawi.

      Personal Communication

      Personal communications, including email and text messages and direct messages sent through social media, are cited in the text and included in a reference list.

      In-text citation: (Suez 2020). (Maake 2019). (Rubeiro 2019).

      References:

      1. Suez, 2020. “Trade Between Angola and Turkey Reaches US $293 Million in 10 Years.” Facebook, 26 November. https://www.facebook.com/News.Angola/.
      2. Maake, 2019. Personal communication via email, 2 September.
      3. Rubeiro, 2021. Personal communication by interview, 3 January.

      J.    Book Reviews

      A book review should inform the reader of the book’s content, quality and standing in the field of study. It can provide criticism such as the book’s limitations, inadequacies, and structure, provided that it is well supported. The purpose is to introduce the book to readers briefly.

      Provide full bibliographical details of the book being reviewed as a title in the following order: author name (s), book title; edition, full page numbers, if any illustrations and eBook (if eBook).

      The reviewer’s names and affiliation must appear at the end.