General Principle

Special Issues are subject to the same standards of editorial oversight, peer review, publication ethics, transparency, and post-publication correction as regular issues. No Special Issue will operate under reduced editorial scrutiny.

Approval of Proposals

A Special Issue proposal should normally include:

• a proposed title and rationale;
• thematic relevance to the journal;
• an explanation of scholarly value and expected contribution;
• the proposed guest editor or guest editorial team;
• indicative contributors or outreach plans, if relevant;
• an anticipated timeline; and
• any known funding, sponsorship, partnership, or conflict-of-interest considerations.

Vetting of Guest Editors

Guest editors must be selected and approved carefully. The journal may consider expertise, publication record, editorial experience, institutional affiliation, public professional profile, prior collaboration patterns, and any integrity concerns or conflicts of interest. The journal may refuse, replace, or limit guest editor roles where risks are identified.

Journal Oversight

Ultimate authority for the Special Issue remains with the Editor-in-Chief or another authorised regular editor designated by the journal. The journal may intervene at any stage, reassign manuscripts, request additional review, suspend an issue, or discontinue a collection where fairness, quality, or integrity require it.

Same Standards as Regular Content

Special Issue manuscripts must meet the same standards as regular submissions with respect to:

• scope and scholarly quality;
• originality and methodological rigour;
• peer review;
• conflict disclosure;
• ethical compliance;
• authorship integrity; and
• post-publication accountability.

Guest Editor Responsibilities

Guest editors are expected to act fairly, confidentially, professionally, and in accordance with all journal policies. They must disclose conflicts of interest promptly and must not favour collaborators, students, colleagues, or institutional associates.

Handling Conflicted Submissions

No guest editor may control the review or decision on a manuscript authored or co-authored by:

• themselves;
• close collaborators;
• current or recent students or supervisors;
• institutional colleagues where impartiality may reasonably be questioned; or
• any person with whom there is a significant personal, professional, or financial conflict.

Such manuscripts must be handled by an uninvolved regular editor appointed by the journal.

Peer Review in Special Issues

Peer review for Special Issue submissions must be genuine, independent, and appropriately documented. The journal may audit reviewer suggestions, reviewer identities, invitations, reports, and editorial decisions.

Transparency

The journal will identify Special Issues clearly on the website and will name guest editors where applicable. Where a manuscript is published in a Special Issue, this fact should be clear from the publication record.

Cancellation or Modification

The journal reserves the right to cancel, postpone, split, or convert a Special Issue into regular-issue content where quality, timeliness, or integrity concerns make this necessary.