Manuscripts :- Contributors should submit their manuscripts (main articles, commentaries, review articles and book reviews) by e-mail, with one hard copy being sent separately by post. All material must be original, unpublished and should not have been submitted for publication elsewhere. Main articles must have a length of 3,000 to 6,000 words. Commentaries and review articles must not exceed 1,500 to 2000 words.

Book Reviews :- Book reviews must contain the name of the author, the title of the book reviewed, particulars of the publisher, place and date of publication, number of pages and price. Authors who wish to have their book considered for review should ask their publisher to send a copy to the Editor, CLAWS Journal. 

Submission :- Since manuscripts will be sent out anonymously for peer review, the authors should omit their identity from the manuscript. The author’s name, rank, unit/institutional affiliation, e-mail ID, postal address and telephone number should be submitted on a separate cover page. Each article must be accompanied by an abstract of about 250 to 300 words. A four to five line (or 75 words) biographical note describing the author should accompany the manuscript. Manuscripts should be typed in double space, including endnotes and references, with 1.5 inch (3.0 cm) margins, on one side of A4 size paper.

Acceptance and Revision :-
Intimation regarding suitability of the article for publication will be given within 30 days of its receipt in normal cases. Articles not accepted for publication will note returned. The Editorial team reserves the right to edit articles for better clarity and to ensure that the style conforms to the style of the CLAWS Journal. However, views expressed by an author will not be altered. Authors should be prepared to revise their manuscript based on the suggestions made by the reviewers and the editorial team.

Honorarium :- A suitable honorarium will be paid for articles accepted for publication. The CLAWS Journal may also commission articles from time to time.

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 within a quote. Long quotes (i.e., four lines or more) should be indented, without quote marks, to set them apart from the text.

Abbreviations :-

1. All abbreviations must be given in full at their first use in the text; for example Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
2. 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.
3. Avoid using “i.e.” and “e.g.” in the text but use them in the notes if you wish.
4. 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 first use.
5. Abbreviated military ranks may be used; e.g., Lt Col, RAdm and Wg Cdr.

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 :-

1. Avoid writing in sub-paragraphs unless it is inescapable – e.g. a list needs to be provided.
2. Even then, write in complete sentences and not in point form under sub-paragraphs.
3. 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 per cent,” “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 “per cent”, 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., “Figure 1” and “Table 1” 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.