Welcome to Contemporary European Politics

Welcome to Contemporary European Politics, a new open-access journal in the field of European politics jointly sponsored by Wiley and the University Association of Contemporary European Studies. The journal is devoted to promoting original research and insightful debate in contemporary European politics by publishing academic articles, research comments and policy analysis covering European politics both within and beyond the European Union.

In a crowded publishing landscape, our ambition as editors is to provide a space which both encourages and celebrates the diversity of scholarship on European politics. There are three interrelated dimensions to this diversity. The first is around disciplinarity. Drawing on our roots as European studies scholars, we recognise the need to look beyond the disciplinary boundaries of political science if we are to understand European politics more broadly. Over recent years, there has been a growing body of literature which has critically reflected on the state of the discipline of European politics, and has called for a more active incorporation of other disciplines and voices which provide important context or offer new insights into how political processes operate (e.g., David et al., 2017; Manners & Rosamond, 2018; Rosamond, 2007, 2016). Contemporary European Politics is very much rooted in this multi-disciplinary tradition. We therefore not only welcome submissions from the field of politics, but also disciplines such as law, international relations, public administration, policy, economics, history, cultural studies and a range of others where these can further understanding of European political processes.

The second dimension of diversity which we seek to promote is with our authors. On the one hand we recognise a significant gender gap persists in journal publishing in European politics, both in terms of authors submitting papers and within the review process (see Haastrup et al., 2022; Stockemer et al., 2020). We also recognise many early career scholars often face barriers in publishing their research. Contemporary European Politics is therefore committed to providing a forum for emerging scholars of European politics by allowing them to present their ideas alongside those of more established scholars. Contributions from PhD students in the advanced phase of their doctoral research, postdoctoral fellows, and academics in the early stages of their careers are particularly encouraged. The journal provides a valuable addition to current provision in this area, both in its mission to actively promote diversity in academic debate and in its accessibility to early career researchers. We strive to provide a platform for new voices to change the terms of how we discuss European politics and act as a stepping-stone for those voices to develop their full potential.

The third dimension of diversity we seek to promote is focused around the perspectives brought by our authors and their research. Here we recognise growing calls for the need to incorporate greater criticality in our research and teaching (e.g., Parker, 2016, 2022), as well as the need to decentre and decolonise the study of European politics (e.g., Bhambra, 2022; David et al., 2023). In particular, we are keen to ensure that the study of European politics is not an introspective exercise, but actively includes approaches that have traditionally been marginalised. This extends to the geographical scope of this journal. As David et al. (2023, p. 154) highlight, while European politics, and European studies more broadly, are naturally focused on Europe in terms of its subject matter, ‘we should not assume that Europe or the EU are only studied in Europe’. To this end, Contemporary European Politics intends to be international in scope and actively seeks to include submissions from authors based within and outside of Europe. We particularly welcome submissions from scholars from backgrounds historically underrepresented in the discipline, and from scholars working on European politics in universities in the Global South and outside of Western Europe more broadly. Our aim is to provide a more global understanding of European politics.

Overall, then, we hope the scholarship published in Contemporary European Politics will contribute to this wider mission to diversify the study of European politics and offer original and novel insights. We hope our readers will enjoy reading the diverse range of contributions which we will publish, and further encourage colleagues to submit their research to the journal.