Dear All

The (30) next to James's email I thought was a type by Gmail.  I could
not believe it.  This being said, I could not agree with James more.
I don't even share the concerns for which the opt-in system is
developed.  As a junior scholar I would ALWAYS opt in.  I do believe
in my own research, though at times I know it is "out there" and the
editor might just hate it or do not find it to be a good fit for the
journal.  In these instances, I would much rather get a desk reject
than an inevitable reject (even after positive reviews - I have seen
this happen with colleagues and in instances I was the reviewer).
Basically in line with Ken Meier's arguments.

Additionally, I am working with many medical researchers.  Small fish
in a small country, often submitting to medical journals where desk
rejects are common and reviews are not blind.  We experienced
absolutely no discrimination.  In fact, quite the oposite.  We were
extremely pleasantly surprised how open journal editors and reviewers
were to different perspectives.  I strongly believe that in political
science it would be the same.

The "blind" editorial rejection is a good idea.  But the fees are a
horrible idea.  That system only rewards people and institutions with
better resources.  If we want political science to be a privilege of
American and Western European scholars, sure.  Otherwise, I would not
recommend it.  Not even on a sliding scale.

Thanks James for this.

Cheers

L

-- 

Levente Littvay
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science
Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.

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