About the Journal

Focus and Scope

AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy and International Relations was the first Brazilian journal in the area of International Relations to be fully published in English (2012). It is an essentially academic vehicle, linked to the Brazilian Center for Strategy & International Relations (NERINT) and the Doctoral Program in International Strategic Studies  (PPGEEI) of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). Its pluralist focus aims to contribute to the debate on the international political and economic order from the perspective of the developing world.

The journal publishes original articles in the areas of Strategic Studies and International Relations, with a special interest in issues related to developing countries and South-South Cooperation – its security problems; the political, economic, and diplomatic developments of emerging countries; and their relations with the traditional powers. AUSTRAL is published semi-annually in English and Portuguese. The journal’s target audience consists of researchers, experts, diplomats, military personnel, and graduate students of International Relations.

The content of the journal consists of in-depth analytical articles written by experts (Professors and Doctors), focusing on each of the great continents of the South: Asia, Latin America, and Africa. Thus, the debate and diffusion of knowledge produced in these regions are stimulated. All contributions submitted to AUSTRAL are subject to rigorous scientific evaluation.

Peer Review Process

Articles submitted to the journal will undergo an editorial process comprising several stages. First, received articles will be subjected to a preliminary assessment by members of the Editorial Board, which will determine the relevance of their publication. Having established that the article meets the thematic requirements, as well as the formal requirements listed in the section Author Guidelines, it will be sent to two external reviewers (ad hoc), specialists in the journal's areas of interest, through the double-blind peer review system, and they will anonymously determine: a) the publication of the article, unmodified; b) the publication of the article, after minor modifications; c) the review of the article by a third reviewer; or d) not to publish the article. If the reviewers' decisions differ, the paper will be reviewed by a third reviewer, whose decision shall define if the article is to be published or not. Finally, the reviewers' decision will be communicated to the author(s) of the work.

Publication Frequency

The journal publishes biannually unedited contributions in the form of Articles and Book reviews, in Portuguese, Spanish or English, about themes that lie in the areas of Strategic Studies and International Relations, with a special interest in issues related to countries situated in the political South and their security and development strategies.

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

NERINT

The Brazilian Center for Strategy & International Relations (NERINT) was the first Center in Southern Brazil to focus its study and research exclusively on the field of International Relations. It was established in 1999 at the Latin American Advanced Studies Institute (ILEA) of the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), and, since 2018, it is part of the Center for International Studies on Government (CEGOV) of the same institution in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Its objective has always been the critical and innovative study of the international system’s transformations after the end of the Cold War, from the perspective of the developing world. In parallel, NERINT has also sought to contribute to the debate on a national project for Brazil through the understanding of the available strategic options for the autonomous international insertion of the country.

The exploratory studies developed by NERINT on the new emerging countries since the threshold of the 21st century experienced remarkable expansion. Cooperation with the state, business, academic and social institutions was intensified, as well as the direct contact with centers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, in addition to the existing ones in Europe and North America. An outcome of the Center’s activity was the creation of an undergraduate course in International Relations (2004), ranked the best in Brazil according to the Ministry of Education, and a Doctoral Program in International Strategic Studies (2010). Two journals were also created: the bilingual and biannual AUSTRAL: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations and the bimonthly journal Conjuntura Austral. In addition, since 2016, NERINT offers a bilingual Research Bulletin, published quarterly by graduate and undergraduate students and researchers of the Center.

In addition to Brazil’s Grand Strategy for the 21st Century, NERINT has lines of research that address the International Relations of the Asian Continent and world-system theory. NERINT has also published two collections of books: the International Relations & Integration Collection and the International Studies Collection. It currently edits the Strategy, Defense, and International Relations Series. Thus, besides the advanced research and intense editorial activities, NERINT is also the birthplace of innovative undergraduate and graduate programs.

PPGEEI

The Doctoral Program in International Strategic Studies (PPGEEI) began its operations in 2011 with Masters's and Ph.D. courses. It has a body of specialized lecturer-researchers with international experience. The research tradition that gave rise to PPGEEI was based on a prospective analysis of world trends in the 1990s. The remarkable expansion of the Brazilian economy and diplomacy from the beginning of the century confirmed the perspective adopted. It also allowed intensive cooperation with diplomatic and international economic organizations in Brazil. The course is already a reference in the strategic analysis of the integration of emerging powers and South-South international relations.

CEBRAFRICA

The Brazilian Center for African Studies (CEBRAFRICA) traces its origins to the Center for South Africa-Brazil Studies (CESUL), a program established in 2005 through a partnership between the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation (FUNAG) from Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Relations.

Its research activities are developed alongside the Brazilian Center for Strategy and International Relations (NERINT). The Center’s main goals are the development of academic research, the supporting of works, thesis, and dissertations, the congregation of research groups in African studies, the organization of meetings and seminaries, the promotion of student and professor exchange experiences with other institutions, the establishment of research networks and joint projects with African and Africanist institutions as well as the publishing of works produced in Brazil and other countries, helping increase the size of the specialized library provided by FUNAG.

Our research efforts are geared toward the understanding of the African continent and its relations with Brazil, encompassing the fields of International Relations, Integration, Security & Defense, Political Systems, History, Geography, Economic Development, Social Structure & its Transformation, and Schools of Thought. It is important to stress that CEBRAFRICA is a purely academic and independent institution, housed in a Brazilian public university, without any bonds with the government or foreign institutions/foundations.

The Center congregates researchers from UFRGS and many other Brazilian, African, and international institutions, as well as graduate and undergraduate students that develop research on the center’s themes.

CEBRAFRICA currently publishes the Brazilian Journal of African Studies (RBEA).

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Our statements are based on COPE Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Every party involved in the process of publishing must agree upon certain patterns of ethical behavior: the editor, the author, the peer reviewers, and the publisher.

Publication decisions

The editor of Austral is responsible for the final decision concerning the publication of an article. The editor is guided by the policies, mission, and focus of the journal and can be constrained by legal requirements, such as plagiarism. The editor must also base his decision on peer reviews when making this decision.

Fair play

The editor of Austral will at any time evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without any regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, or ethnic origin of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff of Austral must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and other editorial advisers, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and, along with the editorial communications with the author, may also assist the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews must be conducted in an objective way. Personal criticism is inappropriate and unacceptable. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. 

Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers of Austral must identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. The perception that an argument or information has been previously reported must be accompanied by the corresponding citation.

A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage by the reviewers. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive or negative relationships or connections of any kind with the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Duties of Authors

Reporting standards

Authors of papers published in Austral must have made original research, accurately presented in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to use the work for their own research. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are, therefore, unacceptable.

Data Access

Authors must be prepared to be asked to provide the raw data used when preparing a paper for editorial review.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors should ensure that they have written original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

An author should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal without any advice constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project must be recognized.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to correct the paper.