Middle East Report welcomes manuscripts on the political economy of the contemporary Middle East, the role of the United States and other outside powers, and popular struggles in the region. We seek to address the intelligent general public as well as those with expertise and professional interest in Middle Eastern affairs.

Style

• We seek clear, direct, readable writing.
• Keep sentences short, crisp, and in the active voice.
• Avoid jargon and unfamiliar acronyms.
• Identify all acronyms and people.
• Avoid sexist formulations.
• Capture readers' attention in the lead paragraphs: unless you convince them immediately that the article is worth reading, they won't bother.
• Use subheads.
• Use correct diacritical marks on all foreign words, though we may not use all of them.
• MER generally uses the Library of Congress transliteration from Arabic to English. There may be exceptions for commonly used words.
• Please include a one-sentence description of how you would like to be identified in the biographical note that will appear with your article.

Translation

• When articles are submitted in languages other than English, authors should expect us to exercise significant editorial discretion to render them into smooth and idiomatic English.

Submissions

• For word processing, we use Microsoft Word (Mac and Windows) and prefer manuscripts written using this program. We can, however, translate text from most other Macintosh and Windows word processing programs.
• Please send manuscripts as email attachments. Our editorial e-mail address at MER is ctoensing@merip.org.

Editorial Process

• Manuscripts are circulated to members of the Middle East Report's Editorial Committee, and occasionally to outside readers with special expertise.
• We inform authors of editorial decisions as quickly as possible, usually within 4 to 8 weeks.
• If an article is promising but needs reworking, we will return the manuscript with suggestions for revisions. A revised manuscript may be circulated for a second review.
• We reserve the right to edit all manuscripts to improve readability. Editorial changes will be cleared with the author before publication.
• Please NOTE WELL that it is not always possible for the Editors to make specific comments on the reasons for the rejection of unsolicited manuscripts.

Articles

• We like investigative and analytical articles that treat a political situation, a particular struggle, an institution, a social class, the social practices and trends known as culture, a theoretical question, or some other specific topic.
• Articles should be original, not formulaic, and based on considerable knowledge of the subject.
• 2500 to 4000 words, determined in consultation with the editors

Interviews

• MER publishes interviews with well-known persons or with those who can give expression to popular sentiment on matters of importance.
• We also publish concise oral histories.
• Questions should search for problems or weaknesses, not simply elicit information or self-aggrandizing statements.
• Interview authors must transcribe, edit, condense, and even rearrange the interview to bring out the most important elements.
• 1000 to 2500 words

Review Essays

• Review essays deal with a major topic in an original way and use the review of several books, films, or other subjects as an instrument for discussing important issues.
• 1000-1500 words

Updates and Dispatches

• Updates report recent news that has not already been covered in the general press. An update may be in the form of a "Letter from…," which presents a story in a detailed way, with much firsthand and original material and a feel for the atmosphere of the area from which the report originates. Or an update may be a short follow-up on previously reported events.
• 400 to 1000 words

Illustrations

• Authors can help us by supplying black-and-white photos, cartoons, maps, or line drawings.

Copyright

• Middle East Report holds the copyright for all articles published in our pages, unless special arrangement is made prior to publication.
• Requests for reprint permission should be sent to MERIP/Reprint Permissions.

Compensation

• We provide authors with three copies of the issues in which their submission appears, plus a complimentary one-year subscription if the author is not already a subscriber.
• Under special circumstances we pay a modest fee for contributions.