Style Guide for the Authors

Clarity: Articles should be written in a clear and lucid style. Sentences should be kept short. The use of too many adjectives should be avoided. The most complex ideas can be expressed in simple language. Paragraphs should also be short.

Use of Pronouns: Articles should be written in third person. Writing in first person should be avoided completely – unless the author is over 65 years old!

Spelling: Use British, not American spellings. Thus, use “humour,” not “humor,” and “programme,” not “program.” Where alternative forms exist, choose “-ise” instead of “-ize” or “-isation” instead of “-ization” spellings. Thus, use “modernise,” “stabilise”, “modernisation,” “stabilisation,” etc.

Quotations: Quotations must be placed in double quotation marks, reserving single quotation marks for a quote with in a quote. Long quotes (i.e., four lines or more) should be indented, without quote marks, to set them apart from the text.

Abbreviations:

  • All abbreviations must be given in full at their first use in the text; for example, Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
  • Abbreviations should include a final stop in words shortened by omitting the end (such as p., ed., vol.) but not in contractions (words such as Mr, Dr, edn, eds) or between capitals, e.g., USA, SAARC, UN.
  • Avoid using “i.e.” and “e.g.” in the text but use them in the notes if youwish.
  • Do not use military abbreviations such as “ops”, “int” and “adm” as the CLAWS Journal will have a civilian as well as an international readership. However, those such as CI (counter-insurgency), IS (internal security) and CPMFs (central police and para-military forces) may be used after being given in full at their firstuse.
  • Abbreviated military ranks may be used; e.g., Lt. Col., RAdm and WgCdr.

Headings and Parts: The only centre heading should be the title of the article. Refrain from dividing an article into several parts. Avoid too many headings, as is the norm in Service writing. While group headings are the norm (bold but not underlined), paragraph headings are best avoided.

Sub-paragraphs and sub-sub-paragraphs:

  • Avoid writing in sub-paragraphs unless it is inescapable – e.g. a list needs to be provided.
  • Even then, write in complete sentences and not in point form under sub-paragraphs.
  • Do not write in sub-sub-paragraphs under any circumstances.

Highlighting Words: Use capitals, bold and italics sparingly but consistently. Italics should be used for titles of books, newspapers, journals and magazines as well as for foreign words not in common usage.

Numbers: Numbers from one to nine should be spelt out, 10 and above will remain in figures; hence, “seven” not “7” and “17” not “seventeen”. However, figures should be used for exact measurements (such as “5 percent,”“5 km”and“5-year-old child”). Use “thousand” and “million,” not “crore” and “lakh” as the Journal will have international readers. Use fuller forms for inclusive numbers in the case of dates and page numbers (such as “1971-72” and pp.“260-65”). In the text use “percent”, in tables the symbol “%.”

Figures and Tables: Figures and Tables should be presented on separate sheets of paper and collected at the end of the article while mentioning the location in the article. Figures and Tables must be numbered in separate sequences, i.e., “Fig. 1” and “Table1”and the titles should be short and crisp.Copyright permission for reproducing figures or photographs that have been cited from other works must be obtained.

Endnotes and References: Endnotes and References should be amalgamated and marked serially in the text of the article by superscript 1, 2, 3,etc.

Referencing Style: References should be typed in the form of the following example on first appearance:

(a) Books:

Michael Foucault, The Archaeology of Knowledge (London: Routledge, 1989), p. 26.

(b) Edited Volume:

James Der Derian (ed), International Theory: Critical Investigations (New York: New York University Press, 1995).

(c) Articles in Journals:                                                      

SaminaYasmeen, “Pakistan’s Kashmir Policy: Voices of Moderation?,” Contemporary South Asia, Vol. 12, No. 2, June 2003, pp. 187-202. In case of two journals having a similar title, the place of publication must be mentioned, e.g., International Affairs (London) and International Affairs (Moscow).

(d) Articles in Edited Volumes:

Tom Nairn, “The Curse of Rurality: Limits of Modernisation Theory” in John A. Hall (ed), The State of the Nation:

Ernest Gellner and the Theory of Nationalism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 107-34

  • Articles in Newsmagazines: GurmeetKanwal, “Pakistan: On the Brink,” The Week, November 4, 2007, p.45.
  • Articles from Newspapers: M.K. Bhadra kumar,“New Regionalism in Central Asia, ”The Hindu, July14, 2004.
  • References to Websites: United Nations Development Programme, “Arab Human Development Report 2003”, http://undp.org/rbas/ahdr/english2003.html, accessed on October 27,2007.
  • Reports andDocuments:
    • United Nations, UNCED, The Global Partnership for Environment and Development (New York: United Nations, 1992).
    • Canberra Commission, Report on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia, 1996). Available on the Internet at<http://www.dfat.gov.au/cc/cchome.html>
  • Conference Papers: Michael Williams, “The Discursive Power of Community: Consideration on the European ‘Security Community’”, Draft Paper presented at the conference on Power, Security and Community: IR Theory and the Politics of EU Enlargement, Copenhagen October 9-12,1997.
  • Unpublished Theses and Dissertations: Christopher Strawn, “Falling of the Mountain: A Political History and Analysis of Bhutan, the Bhutanese Refugees and the Movement in Exile”, Dissertation submitted to the University of Wisconsin, USA, 1993, Chap. 4.

On subsequent reference (unless immediately following the first reference, in which case Ibid. will be used) please use n. with the number of the note given earlier e.g. n.1,n.2.