As I enter my seventh year as editor-in-chief, I reflect on the privilege of serving in this role for Nationalities Papers. It has been a period marked by significant global strife, and our thoughts remain with all of those affected by these terrible conflicts and tragedies. Though it may not seem so, our mission to provide scholarly insights that contextualize and illuminate contemporary events is more important than ever in such turbulent times.
Our journal continues to celebrate and recognize exceptional scholarship. Two articles won the prestigious 2024 Huttenbach Prize: Leila Wilmers’ “The Local Dynamics of Nation Building: Identity Politics and Constructions of the Russian Nation in Kazan and Ekaterinburg” and Sean Mueller’s “Integration Through Inclusion? Probing the Effect of Government Presence on Voting Behavior in the Swiss Cantons, 1848–2022.” I encourage you to read both of them.
The peer-review process remains the cornerstone of our journal’s success. We are deeply grateful to our volunteer reviewers for their invaluable expertise and unwavering dedication. Their contributions are essential to advancing their fields, and we acknowledge their efforts by listing their names in this issue. Production timelines have improved significantly, with the average time to publish an article online (via FirstView) decreasing from 121 days in 2022 to 50 days in 2023. I am also pleased to report that the journal’s impact factor has now nearly doubled, from 0.7 in 2019 to 1.3 in 2023. Nationalities Papers currently ranks 10th out of 518 journals in History, 28th out of 176 in Area Studies, and 153rd out of 317 in Political Science.
I would also like to announce that our journal now has a fully open access model. Our publishers, Cambridge University Press, have an open access option for every author whose manuscript is accepted. We are proud to be able to provide this service, which extends our readership and improves the accessibility and impact of our journal.
Our commitment to innovation and sustainability remains strong. I am pleased to report that Nationalities Papers has transitioned to a fully digital format, reflecting our commitment to sustainability. This is our first digital-only issue. While we may miss the physical copies of the journal, this move aligns with the preferences of our readers and our shared goal of minimizing environmental impact.
Our editorial board has witnessed some changes over the past year. Having served as an Associate Editor for over 11 years, Şener Aktürk stepped down in May 2024. Şener worked tirelessly on our very successful Book Symposia over the past decade, and we cannot thank him enough for his tremendous contributions to the journal. He will continue to serve on the Editorial Board. I also want to welcome David R. Stroup, who joins Julie George as an Associate Editor for Special Issues. He has hit the ground running and is already working on five such collections. We have also been joined by new editorial board members: I would like to extend a warm welcome to Magdelena Dembińska, Emmanuel Karagiannis, and Karolina Lendák-Kabók, and look forward to their contributions.
We are thrilled to hold another Nationalities Papers Photo Contest in Nationalism and Ethnic Studies, which continues to be a highlight for our readers. The contest rewards scholars for their compelling fieldwork photographs, which capture the essence of nationalism, ethnicity, and migration. A brief caption accompanies each winning photograph, sharing its story and connection to the scholar’s research. The six prize-winning photographs are featured on upcoming covers of the journal, and a virtual gallery of past covers is available on our special collections page. Make sure to submit your photos ahead of the deadline on May 10!
I invite you to explore our growing digital offerings, including our numerous special collections and reading lists, compiled by experts as tools for teachers and researchers. I also encourage you to connect with us on social media, including our new Bluesky account @nationalitiesp.bsky.social.
I hope you all will keep submitting manuscripts and special issue proposals, but also keep reviewing, reading, and citing our articles. I look forward to seeing many of you in person at the ASN convention in New York this May, and wish you all the best in the new year!
Sincerely,
