Legal
Terms of Submission
Draft - standard template drafted for the Institute’s review, not legal advice, and not final until the Institute (or its counsel) confirms it. Last drafted August 2026.
Originality
Submissions should be original work not previously published in substantially the same form. Authors should disclose, at the time of submission, any previous publication of related work or simultaneous consideration of the same manuscript elsewhere.
Authors are responsible for securing any permissions required to reproduce third-party material, images, extended quotations, data, or other content, within their submission.
Scope
Submissions should meaningfully engage with African studies, particularly within the Institute’s four research areas:
- History & Decolonization
- Society & Politics
- Arts & Culture
- Religion & Philosophy
Interdisciplinary work is encouraged. The Institute welcomes submissions that cross established disciplinary boundaries where the argument and evidence support it.
Scholarly Standards
Submissions should demonstrate:
- Clear research questions or arguments
- Appropriate engagement with relevant scholarship
- Sound methodology where applicable
- Accurate and consistently formatted citations
- Responsible use of evidence
- Original analysis or meaningful synthesis
Authorship
By submitting a paper, you confirm that you are its author (or have the authority to submit on behalf of all listed co-authors) and that all listed authors have made a meaningful intellectual contribution to the work. Ghost authorship, listing individuals who did not meaningfully contribute, or excluding those who did, is not acceptable.
Research Ethics
Authors are responsible for ensuring that their research was conducted with appropriate ethical approvals, permissions, informed consent, and safeguards where applicable, including research involving human participants, communities, sensitive materials, or personal data. The Institute may request documentation of ethical approvals in connection with a submission.
Academic Integrity
The Institute does not accept:
- Plagiarism: presenting another person’s work, words, or ideas as your own without appropriate attribution.
- Fabrication: inventing or misrepresenting research data, findings, sources, or evidence.
- Falsification: altering, omitting, or manipulating data, sources, or evidence in ways that distort the record.
- Deliberate misrepresentation: making claims about the origin, authorship, status, or nature of a submission that the submitting author knows to be false.
Review
Depending on the publication or programme, submissions may undergo editorial review, peer review, expert review, or another appropriate evaluation process. The specific review process applicable to a given call or submission category will be described in the relevant guidelines or call for papers.
Copyright
Authors retain copyright in their work. By submitting, you grant the Institute a non-exclusive, worldwide licence to review, edit for publication, publish, and distribute your paper, in print and online, as part of the Institute’s archive, if it is accepted. This licence does not prevent you from publishing the same work elsewhere subsequently, though we ask that any later publication credit its first appearance in the Institute’s record.
A separate agreement may govern specific publishing arrangements, and those terms will be communicated to authors on acceptance.
Editorial Changes
Accepted papers may be lightly copyedited for house style, clarity, and citation format. Substantive changes to your argument or findings will always be sent back to you for approval before publication.
Corrections and Withdrawal
You may withdraw a submission at any point before it is formally accepted for publication.
Once published, the Institute may correct, retract, or append a notice of concern to a paper if substantial concerns arise relating to accuracy, integrity, or misconduct. The Institute will contact the author before taking that step wherever possible. The scholarly record will be maintained in a transparent manner.
Contact
Questions about these terms can be sent to hello@mikaelsoninitiative.org.
Terms of Use
Governing use of this website and its content.
Draft - standard template drafted for the Institute’s review, not legal advice, and not final until the Institute (or its counsel) confirms it. This should be reviewed by qualified legal counsel before final publication.
Website Use
This website is provided for informational, educational, and scholarly purposes. By accessing it, you agree to use it in good faith and in accordance with these terms. Automated scraping, harvesting of contact information, or use of this website for commercial purposes without the Institute’s express consent is not permitted.
Intellectual Property
The Mikaelson Institute for African Studies name, marks, and original website content are the property of the Institute and may not be reproduced without permission. Authors of published scholarship retain their own copyright in accordance with the Terms of Submission above. Where material is reproduced with permission from third parties, that permission does not extend to further reproduction by visitors.
Published Scholarship
Papers and other scholarly materials published in the Institute’s archive are made available for academic reading, citation, and non-commercial educational use. Any reproduction, redistribution, or adaptation beyond fair use or equivalent exceptions under applicable copyright law requires the consent of the relevant copyright holder, which, for Institute-published work, is ordinarily the author.
Academic Use
Citation of the Institute’s published scholarship in academic work is permitted and encouraged, subject to standard scholarly citation practice: acknowledging the author, the Institute, and the date of publication. Quotation for the purposes of commentary, criticism, or review is likewise permitted within the usual academic conventions.
External Links
This website may contain links to external sites. The Institute does not control the content of external websites and is not responsible for their accuracy, availability, or practices. Links are provided for convenience and do not constitute endorsement.
User Submissions
Materials submitted to the Institute through its submission and correspondence processes are governed by the Terms of Submission above and by any specific guidelines provided in connection with a particular call or programme.
Prohibited Use
You may not use this website to:
- Violate any applicable law or regulation.
- Impersonate the Institute, its staff, or any other person or organization.
- Transmit material that is unlawful, defamatory, or otherwise harmful.
- Interfere with or disrupt the operation of the website or its infrastructure.
- Harvest personal information from this website by automated means.
Accuracy
The Institute endeavours to ensure that information on this website is accurate and up to date. However, the Institute does not warrant the completeness or accuracy of any content and is not liable for reliance on information published here. Scholarly content published in the Institute’s archive reflects the views of the authors concerned, not necessarily those of the Institute as an institution.
Changes
The Institute reserves the right to modify these terms at any time. Changes will be reflected on this page. Continued use of the website following an update constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
Contact
Questions about these terms of use can be sent to hello@mikaelsoninitiative.org.