Academic journal

Volume 13 (2024)

Volume 12 (2023)

Volume 11 (2022)

Volume 10 (2021)

Volume 9 (2020)

Volume 8 (2020)

Volume 7 (2019)

Volume 6 (2019)

Volume 5 (2018)

Volume 4 (2018)

Volume 3 (2017)

Volume 2 (2016)

Volume 1 (2015)

NATO StratCom COE. NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence is a NATO-accredited, multi-national organisation that, among other activities, conducts research, publishes studies, and provides strategic communications training for government and military personnel. To enhance this work, the NATO StratCom COE publishes an academic journal: “Defence Strategic Communications”.

Journal aims and scope. The journal “Defence Strategic Communications” is an international, peer-reviewed journal. The aim of the Journal is to serve as an academic forum where scholars and practitioners are able to share knowledge and ideas about Strategic Communications, especially from the defence perspective.

The Journal is published both in print and online at: https://stratcomcoe.org/projects/academic-journal Issues are made available in Spring and/or Autumn. The Journal is available free of charge.

Journal DOI number is 10.2966/2018.RIGA.

Journal ISSN number is 2500-9478.

Advertising and Direct Marketing. The Journal does not offer advertising opportunities and does not support any direct marketing activities.

Revenue sources. The Journal is funded by the sponsoring nations of the NATO StratCom COE.

Editorial Management. Editorial Management consists of Editor-in-Chief (Dr. Neville Bolt (King's College London)), Managing Editor, Copy Editor, and Editorial Board consisting of 15 highly qualified and well recognised scholar

Manuscripts. NATO StratCom COE accepts the following types of Manuscripts:    

• original manuscripts of 8,000 to 10,000 words (including footnotes). Original manuscripts also require an Abstract and a Bibliography;
• essays/book reviews of 3,000 to 5,000 words, examining 2–3 recent publications within the field.

Submission guidelines. Authors are requested to submit their Manuscripts in an electronic/soft format via email: academicjournal@stratcomcoe.org. All Manuscripts shall be submitted in English and shall comply with the Style Guide available here. Authors shall include a word count with their Manuscript.

Authors shall include their full name, affiliations, postal addresses, telephone numbers, and email address on the cover page of the Manuscript. In the case of multiple authors, the authors themselves shall agree upon the order of names of co-authors.

Abstract. The Manuscript shall contain an Abstract consisting of no more than 200 words which provides a brief description of the essence of the Article. An Abstract is required for all original Manuscripts submitted, but not for essays/book reviews. The Abstract shall not contain citations or footnotes.

About the Author. A brief ‘About the Author’ note shall state current (or significant) affiliations and academic interests or publications consisting of no more than 200 words. A description of the Author is required for all original Manuscripts submitted, but not for essays/book reviews. ‘About the Author’ should not contain citations or footnotes.

Keywords. A list of four to six keywords shall be indicated for each Manuscript. Keywords shall generally be nouns. They may be compound nouns, especially when referring to a systemic subfield, e.g., strategic communications. When there is a choice, use of plural form is preferable. Keywords shall not contain abbreviations.

Bibliography. A bibliography is a list of all sources used in the process of drafting a Manuscript. In general, a Bibliography shall include: the names of the author(s); the titles of sources; the names and locations of the companies that published respective sources; the dates of publishing; the page numbers of the sources.

Funding of research and/or Manuscript. Authors shall provide the details required by any funding or grant-awarding bodies in a separate paragraph on the last page of the Manuscript.
If applicable, Authors must include a disclosure statement acknowledging any financial interest or benefit they have received arising from their research.

Fees. NATO StratCom COE does not require a submission fee, page charges, or colour charges from Authors.

Transparency. NATO StratCom COE is committed to transparency in all areas of potential conflict of interest at the stage of editorial review, peer review, editorial decision-making, authorship, and publication.

Conflict of Interest. Conflict of Interest exists when a person’s (Author’s, Peer Reviewer’s, Editor’s) private interests might be seen as influencing the objectivity of research, review, or decision-making, to the point that a reasonable observer might wonder if the individual’s behaviour or judgement was motivated by considerations of their competing or conflicting interests.

Author’s Conflict of Interest. It is a responsibility of the Author to confirm if he/she has any Conflict of Interest.

Upon submission of the Manuscript, the Author declares:

• all sources of research funding, including direct and indirect financial support, supply of equipment, or materials (including specialist statistical or writing assistance);
• the role of the research funder(s) or sponsor(s), if any, in the research design, execution, analysis, interpretation, and reporting;
• any relevant financial and non-financial, personal, professional, intellectual, political, or religious interests and relationships that might be considered likely to affect the interpretation of their findings or that editors, reviewers, or readers might reasonably wish to know. These might include, but are not limited to, ownership of shares or stocks, membership on a company’s or institution’s board of directors, membership of an advisory board or committee for a company or institution, consultancy for a company or institution, or receipt of any fees from a company or institution;
• other potential competing or conflicting interests.

Failure to disclose conflicting or competing interests by the Author may require further investigation by NATO StratCom COE or involvement of the affiliated company or institution.

Editor’s and Peer Reviewer’s Conflict of Interest. Editors and Peer Reviewers shall declare any and all competing or conflicting interests at the point of agreeing to their position as Editors or Peer Reviewers accordingly. If an Editor or Peer Reviewer is unsure about a potential competing interest that may prevent them from reviewing, this issue shall be declared to the NATO StratCom COE for closer examination. Editors and Peer Reviewers are required to refrain from editing and/or reviewing Manuscripts if he/she holds a potential Conflict of Interest.

In addition to financial competing or conflicting interests, all involved Editors and Peer Reviewers declare non-financial competing interests that could impact editorial decision-making or the peer reviewing process:

• relationship (paid or unpaid) with organizations and funding bodies, including nongovernmental organizations, research institutions, or charities;
• membership in lobbying or advocacy organisations;
• writing or consulting for a company whose activities might impact the objectivity of the review;
• personal relationships that could affect objectivity;
• having a paper in preparation or consideration that is very similar to the one that is submitted for peer review;
• personal beliefs (political, religious, ideological, or other) related to a paper’s topic that might interfere with an unbiased review process;
• other potential competing or conflicting interests.

All accepted Manuscripts are subject to the Editorial and Peer reviewing process.

Editorial Review and Editorial Guidelines. All duly submitted and accepted Manuscripts are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief for completeness, writing quality, and adherence to the Editorial Guidelines.

For a Manuscript to be selected for Peer Review, it needs to adhere to the Submission Guidelines and following Editorial Guidelines:

• the theme of the submitted Manuscript is of sufficient general interest;
• the results seem original and novel;
• its coverage of literature is sufficient and justified;
• it contains analysis and/or interpretation and contributes to the field and is well-written and well-structured.

The Author shall be notified of the Editor–in-Chief’s decision to accept the Manuscript for Peer Review within 20 days of the submission.

The Author of the Manuscript which has passed Editorial Review shall be asked to enter into a Publishing Agreement with the NATO StratCom COE.

Once the Manuscript has been accepted for Peer Review, the Author shall register his/her account with the ScholarOne publication management system and upload the Manuscript at: https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/stratcomcoe.

Peer Reviewer selection. Peer Reviewers are chosen based on the following considerations:

• independence from the Authors and their institutions;
• expertise (competence) to evaluate the paper fully, fairly, objectively, and professionally;
• to meet diverse demographic representation;
• currently or recently assessing related submissions;
• availability to assess the Manuscript within the requested time;
• reputation, specific recommendations, and previous experience with a reviewer.

Peer Reviewers are recognised experts in the field who can perform an impartial and professional review.

The Peer Reviewers are required to conduct their reviews in an ethical and accountable manner by declaring any and all potential or existing competing or conflicting interests (please refer to the Section on Conflict of Interests above).

Confidentiality. During the Peer Review Process, the identity of Peer Reviewers and Authors are always concealed from all parties. Authors and Peer Reviewers shall treat all communication with the Journal as confidential which includes correspondence with Editor-in-Chief and Peer Reviewers’ reports.

Peer Review Process.  The Manuscript is reviewed by rigorous double-blind Peer Review. In case there is a significant difference of opinions among the two Peer Reviewers, the Manuscript is submitted to the third Peer Review. In case the third Peer Review report does not support any of the two initial Peer Reviewers’ reports, at the discretion of the Editor-In-Chief the Manuscript may be submitted for the fourth Peer Reviewer.  

Peer Review Guidelines. The primary purpose of Peer Review is to provide the Editor-in-Chief with the information needed to reach a fair, evidence-based decision that adheres to the Journal’s Editorial Guidelines for publication. In addition to the Editorial Guidelines, the Peer Reviews shall adhere to the following guidelines:

• reviewers must give unbiased consideration to the Manuscripts submitted and judge them on their merits without discrimination of any kind;
• personal criticism of the Author is inappropriate;
• Peer Reviewers shall express their views clearly with supporting arguments and references as necessary and not be defamatory or libellous;
• Peer Reviewers shall decline to review Manuscripts in which they have a conflicting or competing interest;
• reviewers shall respect the confidentiality of material supplied to them and may not discuss unpublished Manuscripts or use the information in their own work;
• Peer Reviewers are encouraged to alert redundant publication and plagiarism.

Peer Reviewers shall also strictly adhere to the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Peer Reviewer’s reports. The Peer Reviewer’s reports shall contain the reviewer’s assessment on the following aspects of the Manuscript: originality, novelty, and contribution to the field; analysis and/ or interpretation; conclusions; use of scientific sources; writing style and organization; suggested improvements.

The Peer Reviewer’s reports do not need to include an assessment of all of the above-mentioned aspects in that specific order but the reviewer’s evaluation shall be reasonably clear and justified. In case it is the Peer Reviewer’s recommendation to reject the Manuscript, the Peer Reviewer shall explain the major weaknesses of the research.

In case any doubts arise as to the content of the specific report, the Peer Reviewers shall reach out to the Editor-in-Chief for guidance.

Peer Reviewers are invited to submit their report within 20 days via ScholarOne publication management system: https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/stratcomcoe.

Editing Peer Reviewer’s Reports. Peer Reviewer’s reports might be edited by the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor with the consent of respective Peer Reviewer. Such edits cannot be substantial. The Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor may suppress the Peer Review based solely on ethical or legal concerns.

Final Editorial Decision Regarding the Manuscript. Within 15 days after receipt of all Peer Reviewer’s reports one of the following editorial decisions is adopted by the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor:

• accept as is;
• accept conditional on a minor editorial revision;
• invite the Author to revise and resubmit for review after revision. In this case, the Manuscript shall be revised by the author and resubmitted to the Journal for editing;
• reject with the invitation to resubmit;
• reject with no invitation to resubmit due to lack of adherence to the Editorial Guidelines or other justified reasons.

If the Manuscript is accepted for publication, the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor informs the Author regarding the date of the Article’s publication in the Journal.
 

Authorship. All persons who have made a substantial contribution to the Manuscript shall be listed as Authors. Substantial contribution may mean drafting the Manuscript in its entirety or revising it critically for important intellectual content. All published Articles shall contain clear and accurate attribution of authorship.

Multiple Authorship and Contributorship. Principal Authorship, Authorship order, and other publication credits shall be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. Author shall ensure that all persons that contributed to the Manuscript are fairly acknowledged and that the published Author list accurately reflects individual contributions.

Authorship Issues and Disputes. Where Authorship disputes arise, Author and Editorial Management follows the COPE guidelines on Authorship detailed here. When authorship disputes arise during Editorial or Peer Review or pre-publication, the Editor-in-Chief or Managing Editor may halt submissions and delay the review and publication until the dispute is resolved.

When an Article has already been published and an Authorship dispute emerges, the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor shall investigate the dispute in a systemic manner in accordance with the COPE guidelines and flowcharts listed here (see page 9).

The Managing Editor may correct the scientific record through corrigendum, or, in more severe situations, at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, an editorial expression of concern or retraction.

Simple Corrections. Simple corrections of name spellings, affiliations, or credentials may be corrected at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief without consultation with Authors. Changes in Authorship order, or addition or removal of an Author require consent in writing of all listed Authors.

Corrigendum. Technical error or ambiguity in Article at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief without consultation with the Author may be corrected by Corrigendum. Corrigendum is not issued to correct errors that can be assumed to have no consequences, for example, minor printing errors. Corrigendum is not issued to update information that has become outdated since publication.

Acknowledgements. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for Authorship shall be listed by the Author in an acknowledgements section at the beginning of the Article. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Plagiarism. Copyright infringement, plagiarism, or other breaches of best practice in publication are investigated by NATO StratCom COE. Manuscript may be checked with duplication-checking software.

Where the Manuscript is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the Authorship of the Manuscript is contested, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to take action including but not limited to: publishing corrigendum; retracting the Article; taking up the matter with the Author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.
When self-plagiarism is detected in the Manuscript or post-publication, the Editor-in-Chief shall follow and act in line with the COPE Guidelines on Text Recycling.

Prior publication. If the Manuscript has been previously published, it is not acceptable for publication in the Journal.

Redundant (duplicate) publications. Authors shall verify at the Manuscript submission stage that their Manuscript is original and has not been published elsewhere. If, after checking submitted Manuscripts with a duplication-checking software, the manuscript is found to overlap with other work, NATO StratCom COE shall act in accordance with the COPE Flowchart on Redundant (duplicate) publication in a submitted manuscript. If redundancy is detected after the article’s publication, the Editor-in Chief or Managing Editor shall act in accordance with the COPE Flowchart on Redundant (duplicate) publication in a published article. If redundant publication occurs, the Journal may issue a notice of redundant publication in the next issue of the Journal.

Preprints. Preprints are considered as an Author’s version of the Article prior to Editorial Review and Peer Review and they shall not be publicly available prior to publication.

Publication ethics and research misconduct of the Authors. NATO StratCom COE is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record and the highest standards of publication and research ethics. Editors shall take reasonable steps to identify and prevent the publication of Manuscripts where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data falsification/fabrication, among others. In the event that the NATO StratCom COE is made aware of any allegation of research misconduct relating to a published Article, the Editor shall follow the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal editors in dealing with allegations and cooperating with institutions that investigate cases of research misconduct.

Assignment of Copyrights. All economic copyrights to the Manuscript submitted by the Author to NATO StratCom COE for the purposes of publishing and dissemination are assigned to NATO StratCom COE without paying fees neither for the Author to compensate assignment of copyrights, nor to NATO StratCom COE for publication.

Moral rights. The Author undertakes not to use his/her personal copyrights in such a manner that might harm the interests of the NATO StratCom COE and will ensure that the existence of any unassigned moral rights will not in any way interfere the exploitation of economic copyrights by NATO StratCom COE.

Published Article’s Availability. After publication of the Article, the Author shall be provided with the Article’s DOI number, website link to the article, and complimentary paper copy of the issue containing the Article. The Author is free to share the link of Article via social media or other platforms and to reproduce copies of the Article’s PDF file.

Republishing. Republishing of articles is conditional upon a prior written consent of NATO StratCom COE.

Terms of License. NATO StratCom COE grants to other users a non-exclusive right and license to view, print, copy, download, search, or link the Journal and/or articles in any format and in all types of media (print and electronic media) intended for non-commercial use and provided there is a duly formed reference to the copyright holder – NATO StratCom COE. Indexing of the Article or Journal as well as their use for commercial purposes is conditional upon prior written consent of the NATO StratCom COE.

Full text of Terms of License is available here.

The Author is solely and fully liable for the content of the Article. NATO StratCom COE does not take responsibility for the views of authors expressed in their articles. The Author is aware that distribution of wrongful and defamatory information can incur civil, administrative, or criminal liability.

Mutual assistance in defence against actions. If at any time any action is brought against NATO StratCom COE by a third party in any authority or court in relation to any published Article (including but not limited to claim actions which arise from infringement of copyrights, defamation claims, or any other claims which the Article can be subject to), the Author shall assist NATO StratCom COE in such proceedings and provide any and all reasonably necessary information to NATO StratCom COE.

Indemnity of NATO StratCom COE. The Author shall remain liable for any and all the losses incurred by NATO StratCom COE due to any claim, and shall indemnify and hold NATO StratCom COE harmless for any losses, claims, damages, awards, or penalties incurred, including reasonable attorney’s fees, which arise from defence of any claim.

NATO StratCom COE welcomes post-publication discussion through letters or e-mails to the Editor-in-Chief for readers to raise concerns or seek clarification about published articles as well as to present a scholarly and constructive exchange about issues raised in the published articles.

Handling of a post-publication critique. After a formal critique is received, the Editor-in-Chief may invite the Authors of the critiqued Article to write a response. NATO StratCom COE shall consider critiques for publication if they are found to be constructive and useful to the Journal’s readership. Thus, the Journal reserves the right to Peer Review the critique and the Author’s response in accordance with the Journal’s Editorial and Peer Review Policies.

In handling post-publication critique, NATO StratCom COE shall follow the respective COPE Guidance on Handling Post-Publication Critique.

The complaint shall first be handled by the Editor-in-Chief. By handling the complaint, the Editor-in Chief shall examine the grounds and justification for the complaint and may ask for further explanations from any of the involved parties, including the complainant. Response to the complaint shall be delivered no later than within 60 days since its submission.

Appeal. In the appeal, the complainant shall: detail why he/she disagrees with the decision, provide specific responses to any of the Editor-in-Chief’s and/or Peer Reviewers’ comments that contributed to the decision to reject, provide any new information or data that they would like the Journal to take into consideration, provide evidence if they believe a Peer Reviewer has made technical errors in their assessment of the Manuscript and, if possible, provide evidence if they believe a reviewer may have a conflict of interest.

Appeal shall be submitted to the Managing Editor in writing via e-mail: academicjournal@stratcomcoe.org.

Decision on the Appeal. Appeal shall be handled by the Board of Appeal that is appointed by NATO StratCom COE and shall consist of 3 to 5 members. The Board of Appeal within 60 days since submission of appeal decides whether:

• the decision to reject the Manuscript shall stand;
• another independent opinion is required;
• the appeal shall be upheld.

The Board of Appeal shall consider one appeal per Manuscript. The Decision of the Board of Appeal shall be final.

Allegations of Misconduct. In case the Journal has received a complaint or a report alleging misconduct on the part of the Author or the Peer Reviewer, NATO StratCom COE shall investigate the matter in line with the COPE Flowcharts on allegations of misconduct.

Handling of Allegations from Whistleblowers. Upon receipt of allegations via direct email or via social media, regardless of whether the allegations refer to the soundness of the data, plagiarism, manipulation, or other forms of misconduct, the Journal will take the necessary steps outlined in the respective COPE Flowchart on responding to whistleblowers when concerns are raised directly and COPE Flowchart on responding to whistleblowers when concerns are raised via social media.

NATO StratCom COE follows the COPE Guidelines on Retraction and will consider retraction of a published Article in order to correct the literature and alert the readers to Articles that contain such erroneous content or data that their findings and conclusions cannot be relied upon.

NATO StratCom COE will retract a published Article in the following cases:

• there is clear evidence that the findings of the Article are unreliable either due to a major error or as a result of fabrication or falsification;
• the Article constitutes plagiarism;
• the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper attribution to previous sources or disclosure to the editor, permission to republish, or justification (i.e., redundant publications);
• the Article contains material or data without authorisation to use such material or data;
• copyright has been infringed or there is some other serious legal issue (e.g., libel, privacy);
• the Article relies on unethical or otherwise inappropriate research;
• the Article has been published solely on the basis of a compromised or manipulated Peer Review process;
• the Author failed to disclose a major conflicting or competing interest that, in the view of the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor, would have unduly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and peer reviewers.

In case the decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief to retract a published Article, NATO StratCom COE shall publish a retraction notice in the next issue of the Journal, specifying the reasons and basis for the retraction.

All Manuscripts and published Articles, including their conclusions and findings, need to be based on data which is generally available to ensure the integrity of research. Without access to the original data, scientific claims can be difficult or impossible to replicate.

NATO StratCom COE aims to make transparent the availability of the data on which the Manuscript and Article are based, including images included in the submitted Manuscript or published Article.

In case suspicions arise with respect to the availability and/or integrity of the data and/or images in a submitted Manuscript or published Article, NATO StratCom COE shall follow the COPE Flowchart on Fabricated data in a submitted manuscript, COPE Flowchart on Fabricated data in a published article or COPE Flowchart on Image manipulation in a published article accordingly.

The journal is indexed in Google Scholar, Scientific Indexing Services, Open Academic Journals Index, The Directory of Research Journal Indexing (DRJI) Central and Eastern European Online Library. InfoBase Index and CiteFactor.