The International Relations Anatomy (IRA) journal

Proposed journal partnership with prospective international publisher:

The International Relations Anatomy (IRA)

Aims and Scope
The International Relations Anatomy (IRA) is the flagship journal of PhISO (Philippine International Studies Organization). PhISO is one of the only two accredited partner organizations of the International Studies Association (ISA) in the whole Southeast Asian region.

In so many ways, the discipline of International Relations (IR) had been shaped based on Western or Global Northern (specifically, the USA, the UK, Germany and France) experiences, schools and traditions of thoughts. Knowledge systems of IR in non-Western societies are seen or devalued as peripheries, metaphysical, mystical or spiritual, merely alternatives, or normatively ‘the Other’. IRA’s goal is to present knowledge productions and systems of IR in the Global South that equally and critically engaging with the West or Global North’s sacred standard of rationality and scientific rigor.

IRA is a scholarly journal that serves as critical academic platform of thinking and doing IR differently and beyond the Global North’s IR enterprise on theories, methods, and praxes. It advances cosmologies of diverse ways of contemplating the ‘international’ as form of study, discipline, and reality. IRA focuses on theoretical, methodological, empirical, practical/policy-oriented research works and studies of IR within the context and perspective of the Global South in general and the Philippines in particular.

Main discipline: International Relations

Subdisciplines: International Relations Theory / Non-Western International Relations / Post-Colonial International Relations / Religion and International Relations / Historical International Relations / Gendering International Relations / Philosophy and International Relations / Diplomacy and Foreign Policy / International Law / International Organizations / Security and Peace Studies / International Political Economy / International Political Sociology / Nationalism and International Relations / International Development Studies / Environment and International Relations

IRA accepts entries that have various methodological social science orientations but limited to specific geographies: Asia (particularly ASEAN, East Asia, and the Middle East), Africa, and Latin America. Since IRA is the flagship journal of the Philippine International Studies Organization (PhISO), we are very keen in developing a ‘Philippine IR’ in the literature. It is our humble contribution to the emerging non-Western IR movements such as those of the Chinese IR, the surgical analyses of ‘Worlding beyond the West’ book series, religion and IR, and post-colonial IR. It aspires to trace the historical development of Philippines’ involvement in the international society, particularly that it is a founding member of ASEAN, member of Non-Aligned Movement and G77, and one of the first Asian countries to nationalized and democratized its governmental institutions. IRA hopes to present locally produced IR knowledge not only in the Philippines but also in countries within the Global South. By creating and introducing a ‘Philippine IR’, it hopes to paved the way for recognizing more subaltern voices, pluralist histories, and multi-cultural experiences in the field of International Relations. PhISO thinks that in today’s generation new opportunities and windows are opening up to welcome Global South IR. We believed that IRA will serve as inspiration and confidence for others’ IR, e.g., Indian IR, Iranian IR, South African IR, Brazilian IR, Mexican IR, etc., to follow suit.

Rationale
IRA is one of a kind journal that addresses comprehensively the status and position of IR in the world today, particularly Global South IR’s theoretical, methodological and empirical engagements and clashes with the hegemonic Global North’s IR. The journal was inspired by recent series of publications and academic activities that critically analyzed integrative pluralism in IR theory, non-Western movements such as Chinese or Islamic IR, and post-colonial contributions to IR. The following activities will be participated by PhISO:
—2nd WISC exploratory workshop on “Alternative Cosmologies and Knowledge Systems in International Relations.” It will be held on 11-13 January 2016 in New Delhi, India.
—PhISO roundtable sections at ISA Asia-Pacific Conference. They will be held on 25-27 June 2016 at City University of Hong Kong.
—PhISO Post-Colonial section at the European International Studies Association’s (EISA) Conference. It will be held at Yaşar University in Izmir, Turkey on 07-10 September 2016.

PhISO is confident about the internationality of IRA because of the growing scholarship of IR in the Global South, and PhISO will continue to participate in international academic activities in order to establish research networks, attract high quality contributions, and disseminate IRA widely.

On competition and how this proposed journal would be different

Clearly, there are several IR journals that cemented the legacy and hegemony of Western/Global Northern IR’s enterprise on theories, methods, and praxes. Typically, Global South ‘IR’ scholars are under-represented or marginalized in the editorial operations including opportunities for refereed journal publications, and especially if that scholar did not earn his/her PhD from well-known IR programs of universities in the West (particularly, the USA, the UK, Germany and France) or has no publishing experience in leading English-IR journals such as the International Organization, International Studies Quarterly, Foreign Affairs, World Politics, European Journal of International Relations, Foreign Policy, International Affairs, Global Governance, etc.

The following journals are implicitly seen as competitors of IRA:
—1. Review of International Studies (Cambridge University Press) seeks to reach beyond the traditional grounding of the discipline so that it reflects the changing nature of global politics, new political challenges and contemporary understandings.
—2. International Studies Review (Oxford University Press) provides a window on current trends and research in international studies and identifies new directions for the field, and present insights into scholarship in various parts of the world.
—3. Millennium: Journal of International Studies (SAGE) provides a forum for discussion on the latest developments in the theory of international relations, welcoming innovative and critical approaches.
—4. International Relations (SAGE) is explicitly pluralist peer-reviewed journal, favouring variety in both subject-matter and method. It welcomes articles from all perspectives and on all subjects pertaining to international relations.

The common denominator among these four journals is that they provide the latest innovations, developments, current trends, contemporary global issues, and in nature a pluralist in their approach that welcomes all ideas and scholarship all over the world. However, they continue to explicitly manifest the dominance of Western/Global Northern IR scholarship by rendering on their enterprise of their traditions and schools of thoughts.

The International Relations Anatomy (IRA) in essence seeks to provide insights and scholarships that are locally produced and developed in Asia (particularly ASEAN, East Asia, and the Middle East), Africa, and Latin America regardless of time or period. It opens up mutual windows of old and new boundaries, spaces and civilizational discourses of ‘holistic IR’ including shared stories, exchanges of cultural nodes, and experiences between and among the worlds of the Chinese, Indian, Asian, European, North & South American, and the Islamicate. For example, introducing IR scholars or theoreticians who lived during the golden age of Islam, or conceptual IR practices that flourished in ancient China and India which are still present today. It may also include studies on statecraft, for example, by Nizam al-Mulk’s Siyasatnama (11th century) and his influence on Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince (15th century). Or comparison of the concept on sovereignty between Christianity and Islam, and how it differs to the modern understating of territorial sovereignty.

Administrative Structure
The following editors comprise the current overall editorial administration of IRA.

Editor
—Oversees and supervises the suitability of entries (research articles, reviews and essays) with regard to the aims and scope of the journal. He manages the call for papers and review process, and the main contact person for administrative and general inquiries or concerns.

Managing Editors
—Part of the decision making body and assist in the review process of all accepted entries.

Book/Articles Review Editor
—Manage list of books and articles significant to the aims and scope of the journal and decide on the quality of entries. A review entry of single or combination of books and/or articles are accepted format for the journal.

Filipino Essay/Article Editors*
—In every issue there is always one accepted article or essay written in Filipino (Tagalog) language. They manage the suitability of entries with regard to the aims and scope of the journal including its editorial review process.

Special Issue/Forum Editors
—Manage special issues and forums. A forum is similar with roundtable discussion of scholars on a particular topic but in written format, i.e., in short essays. Special issue is done annually, while forum can be done per issue depending on the availability of such discussion.

(Confirmed) Board of Editors
The following members will serve as reviewers and advisors:
Professor Julio C. Teehankee (De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines)
Professor David Lewis (London School of Economics & Political Science, UK)
Professor Clarita R. Carlos (University of the Philippines, Diliman)
Professor Sylvia Chant (London School of Economics & Political Science, UK)
Professor Diane A. Desierto (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, USA)
Professor María Dolores Elizalde Pérez-Grueso (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, España)
Dr. Vernadette V. Gonzalez (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, USA)
Dr. Rommel A. Curaming (University of Brunei Darussalam)
Dr. Salvador Santino F. Regilme Jr. (DLSU and Northern Illinois University, USA)
Dr. Charmaine G. Misalucha-Willoughby (De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines)
Dr. Federico Magdalena (University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, USA)
Dr. Henelito A. Sevilla, Jr. (University of the Philippines, Diliman)
Assoc. Prof. Herman Joseph S. Kraft (University of the Philippines, Diliman)

NB. We will add more scholars from the Global South to the board of editors.

*The addition of one short essay in Filipino symbolizes PhISO’s post/de-colonial stance on its critique of English as the hegemonic language of IR. And furthers our position of perceiving a ‘holistic IR’ characterized by shared and mutual histories and experiences of the Philippines and the world. That although, Philippines is seen as politically weak in world politics, at least we show academically that we were able to penetrate mainstream English publishers of leading IR journals and giving us the chance to include an essay in Tagalog. Furthermore, we want to offer a venue for the language to be utilized academically and gain international ‘exposure’. Although this is a ‘work in progress’ initiative, we do hope that international publisher understands our motivation. We aspire to include bilingual articles as a future endeavor (in different languages from the Global South, e.g. Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, Persian, Hindi, Bahasa, Urdu, etc., with accompanying translations). This is for the ultimate goal of having non-Western scholarship be made known internationally.

Format/Level/Approach
As much as possible PhISO will make it sure that annually there is a balanced representation of theoretical, empirical/research-based and ‘practice/policy-oriented’ papers through proper or equal allocation of contributions per designated issue. It means that accepted and refereed contributions will be equally distributed and published per issue. IRA will be composed of regular 8,000 to 10,000-word research articles, 4,000 to 6,000-word Filipino essay, 2,000 to 4,000-word book/article reviews, and four to five forum (1,000 to 2,000-word) essays depending on the availability of roundtable discussions. We may need assistance from copyeditors of the partner publisher. And lastly, we envisage two issues per year.

Mock contents of the first two issues may include titles such as:
—Theories of International Relations and their Applications to Global South, ASEAN, and the Philippines
—Tracing and Mapping the Evolution and History of IR in the Philippines
—Navigating the Challenges in Teaching IR in the Philippines
—Frontiers in IR Theorizing in the Philippines
—Is there a Philippine IR?: Critical Reflections
—Provincializing IR Theory: Asia and the Philippines
—Critical Unpacking of Philippine Foreign Policy
—Philippines in rising ASEAN and Asia: Implications for the study of IR
—Doing IR research in the Philippines
—The relevance of IR for the Philippines in the 21st Century

Target Audience and Market Profile/Potential
Academicians, students, and practitioners of international relations in the Philippines and Global South are the target audience of IRA. Since PhISO is a new association which was founded on 24 September 2015, it has so far 200+ confirmed members excluding the more or less 1000+ members of its Facebook group. This number is expected to increase especially with the forthcoming first national conference of PhISO next year.

Depending on the subscription fees (rates for hard or soft copies) agreed between PhISO and the partner publisher, a rough estimate number of potential individual subscribers is around 500+ for the first year of its operation. However, PhISO will make it sure that subscription to IRA will be included in the membership fees, which automatically makes all PhISO members subscribers of IRA. Thus, PhISO envisions that IRA will primarily be financed through subscription fees and hopefully institutional sponsorship(s). The prospective institutional base of IRA is Far Eastern University located in Manila, Philippines.

Most of PhISO’s academic participations will be with ISA Asia-Pacific regional conference, IR conferences situated within the neighboring countries of the Philippines, and from time to time IR conferences in Europe, the USA, China (or East Asian countries), India, Brazil, and Australia.

Timing
Two possibilities: The first issue may be released two weeks before or three months after the founding national conference of PhISO.