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Taylor & Francis

Prepare your manuscript for The International Spectator.

Review the checklist, choose your article type, and turn your draft into a cleaner submission package.

Checked 2026-08-01
Check readiness freePrepare this manuscript

Article types

Review
Research Article
Book Review
Editorial
Letter
Perspective
Clinical Trial
Protocol
Systematic Review
Lectio

Readiness requirements

Review the key details below, or download the complete checklist with every stored source-backed requirement.

Abstract length

  • Provide an author-written abstract of no more than 100 words.
  • Articles and essays must include a 100-word abstract.
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  • More specifically, each proposal for a Special Core or Special Issue should include: A list of contributions (from 4 to 6 for Special Cores; from 8 to 12 for Special Issues) including, for each article, a short abstract (100 words) and the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s).
  • The abstract should enter straight into the gist of the arguments and should not use the "this article discusses" style.

Reference style

  • Articlo formats your supplied references to the journal's stored style and checks that citations match the reference list; source validity is not verified.
  • Use acronym for all subsequent references.
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  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors take full responsibility for the integrity of the whole content, including accuracy of references.

Figure and table rules

  • Keep every figure and table numbered, captioned, and cited in the manuscript.
  • Figures should be high quality (1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for grayscale and 300 dpi for colour, at the correct size).
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  • Figures should be supplied in one of our preferred file formats: PS, JPEG, TIFF, or Microsoft Word (DOC or DOCX) files are acceptable for figures that have been drawn in Word.
  • Please note that as an author, you are required to secure permission to reproduce any proprietary text, illustration, table, or other material, including data, audio, video, film stills, and screenshots and any supplementary material you propose to submit.

Funding statement

  • You should declare only the acquired funds and grants that are directly relevant to the work reported in your article; for example, This work was supported by the [Funding Agency #1] under Grant [number xxxx]; [Funding Agency #2] under Grant [number xxxx]; and [Funding Agency #3] under Grant [number xxxx].

Competing interests

  • Include or confirm the competing interests required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Cover letter

  • Include or confirm the cover letter required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Author contributions

  • Submitting authors should be prepared to submit CRediT roles for themselves and their co-authors (where applicable) as part of the submission process.

Supplementary files

  • Lectio: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Letter: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
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  • Review: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Protocol: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Editorial: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Perspective: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Clinical Trial: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Research Article: Include every cited supplementary file and use matching labels in the manuscript.
  • Embed or attach the author-supplied supplementary material so Articlo can extract and label it for the package.

Article structure and word limits

  • Research Article / Book Review: Research articles and essays should be 7000 to 8000 words in length, book reviews 1200 words.
  • Use least amount of numerals for date ranges; use hyphen: 1756-63, 1990-2002.
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  • Page ranges should be reduced as far as possible; use a hyphen: pp.22-3, 256-7, 207-8.
  • More specifically, each proposal for a Special Core or Special Issue should include: Rationale (500 words, outlining the scope and significance of the proposed topic and approach).
  • Review: These instructions will ensure we have everything required so your paper can move through peer review, production and publication smoothly.
  • Review / Editorial: Contributions to The International Spectator must report original research and will be subjected to review by referees at the discretion of the Editorial Office.
  • Perspective: All Special Core and Special Issue proposals must address the relevant topic from a well-defined perspective.
  • Perspective: They must include a coherent set of articles that contribute to moving the understanding of the topic forward, in both a research and policy perspective.
  • More specifically, each proposal for a Special Core or Special Issue should include: A title clearly stating the subject matter and the chosen approach.
  • Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article open access.
  • Use our APC finder to view the APC for this journal.
  • Use spaced en dashes ( – ) when offsetting text within a sentence.
  • Authors are required to sign an Article Publishing Agreement to facilitate this.
  • The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Originality and accuracy of content has been confirmed by the authors.
  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable.
  • Authors must retain the original and revised versions which must be shared upon request.
  • The PLSP guidelines for authors must be followed at all times.
  • Letter: To apply for the early career mentoring programme, authors must submit their papers directly to the journal editors at tis@iai.it, including their cv and a short motivation letter in support of their application.
  • More specifically, each proposal for a Special Core or Special Issue should include: The proposed timeline for the submission of the full set of papers to the journal editors.
  • Editorial: More specifically, each proposal for a Special Core or Special Issue should include: Any further relevant information (multimedia, guest editorial, promotional opportunities, e.g. relevant conferences).
  • Sexist or racist terms should not be used.
  • In general: keep capitals to a minimum.
  • Use hyphens, not dashes, for number ranges.
  • Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and our publisher Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content.
  • Image descriptions are typically used by systems such as pronouncing screen readers to make images accessible to people that cannot read or see the object due to a visual disability.
  • In general: do not hyphenate: adverb-adjective combinations 'well known', 'fully operational'; multiple words used as nouns day off; most prefixes, except where the word would be ambiguous or overly long.

Reporting guidelines

  • Include or confirm the reporting guidelines required by the journal. Articlo checks this item and flags anything that still needs author input.

Artificial intelligence disclosure

  • Add or confirm the author-written Artificial intelligence statement; Articlo flags it if author input is still needed.
  • Please include a statement disclosing whether and how generative AI has been used in the research and manuscript preparation process.
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  • Use of AI tools as part of ethical research studies is permitted.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: The name and version number of the AI tool used.
  • Systematic Review: Use of AI tools as part of ethically conducted literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and bibliometrics studies is permitted.
  • Use of AI tool assisted plain language summaries (PLS) of authors own work is permitted.
  • Please read our guidance on using AI tools in your research and manuscript preparation to understand scenarios where their use may be permissible, and the required information that must be disclosed.
  • A declaration must be included within the submission stating: Confirmation the authors have checked terms of use for the specific AI tool used, and therefore confirm suitability for publication.

Blinded manuscript

  • Review: The two kinds of articles published – essays on topics of major current interest, and the more analytical research articles – undergo rigorous peer review, based on initial in-house screening and anonymous refereeing by at least two reviewers.

Authorship and originality

  • The contributions must be authored by scholars from a number of different countries and institutions; multiple articles by the same author(s) or co-author(s) are not accepted.

Title page and author information

  • More specifically, each proposal for a Special Core or Special Issue should include: The name, affiliation and short bio (100 words) of the proponents.
  • All the authors of a paper should include their full names and affiliations on the cover page of the manuscript.
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  • One author should be identified as the corresponding author.
  • The affiliations of all named co-authors should be the affiliation where the research was conducted.

Language and text style

  • All submissions must be in English and in conformity with the journal's style (see below).
  • UK spelling should be used throughout, using Oxford English Dictionary ( www.askoxford.com/dictionaries/compact_oed/?view=uk ).
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  • Letter: Punctuation should be outside the quotation marks unless the quotation contains a grammatically complete sentence starting with a capital letter.

Study reporting guidelines

  • Authors must provide full methodological details and adhere to relevant reporting guidelines where applicable (e.g. CONSORT-AI, STARD-AI, GAMER, TRIPOD-AI, etc).

Manuscript structure

  • Authors must retain full records of the methods undertaken, including full descriptions and records of the prompts used, which must be shared with the journal upon request.
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What your package checks

Abstract: 100 words
Paper: 8,000 words
Declarations: Artificial intelligence

Source transparency

This preparation guide uses published journal-specific author requirements. Journal instructions can change, so authors should complete a final review before submission.

Open official guideline source