Policy & Governance
Empirical and normative work on public policy, institutions, political economy, international affairs, and the design and reform of the administrative state.
From the Editors
The James Madison Journal is an independent scholarly review dedicated to serious inquiry in policy, law, economics, political philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities. Founded by Princeton alumni and researchers, and centered on the intellectual tradition of the University — while remaining an independent publication — the Journal exists to give rigorous, original scholarship a permanent and dignified home. We publish work of consequence: essays and papers that clarify a hard question, defend a position with evidence, and are written to be read a generation from now.
We welcome contributions at every level of the academy. An undergraduate thesis chapter, a graduate working paper, a law-review-style note, and a senior faculty member's essay are read under the same standard: is the argument true, is it new, and is it well made? Distinguished scholarship is not the property of any single rank, and our peer review is blind to everything but the work itself.
Aims & Scope
The Journal considers original research and argument across six intersecting domains. We prize clarity of prose, honesty about counterarguments, and command of the relevant literature over methodological fashion. Interdisciplinary work is especially welcome.
Law & Jurisprudence
Constitutional interpretation, legal theory, comparative and international law, and doctrinal notes in the tradition of the leading law reviews.
Economics
Microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, applied econometrics, economic history, and the economics of law, public finance, trade, and development.
Philosophy
Moral and political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of law, epistemology, and the history of political thought from antiquity to the present.
Social Sciences
Empirical and theoretical work across government, sociology, psychology, and related fields bearing on human institutions, behavior, and public life.
The Humanities
History, classics, intellectual history, religion, and literary and cultural criticism bearing on questions of public and enduring significance.
Current Selections
The full text of accepted papers is available to registered readers and subscribing institutions. A selection of abstracts from the current and recent issues appears below.
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Law & Jurisprudence
The Nondelegation Doctrine After Loper Bright: A Reconstruction
Examines the shifting boundary between legislative and administrative authority following the retirement of Chevron deference, and proposes a workable test for permissible delegation grounded in the original public meaning of Article I.
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Political Philosophy
Rawls, Reciprocity, and the Limits of Public Reason
Argues that the ideal of public reason is better defended as a norm of civic reciprocity than as a constraint on comprehensive doctrines, with implications for debates over religion in the public square.
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Policy & Governance
Fiscal Federalism and the Municipal Debt Crisis: Evidence from 1975–2020
A panel study of state intervention in distressed local governments, finding that early conditional support outperforms both receivership and non-intervention across recovery horizons.
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Intellectual History
Witherspoon's Scots and the Grammar of the Founding
Traces the influence of the Scottish Enlightenment, transmitted through Princeton's eighteenth-century curriculum, on the vocabulary of rights and virtue in the founding-era American press.
Submission Requirements
The Journal accepts submissions on a rolling basis for its Autumn and Spring issues. All manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screen followed by double-blind peer review. We read work from scholars at every level — undergraduates, master's and doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, practitioners, and professors — under a single standard of merit.
Eligibility
- Open to authors at any stage: undergraduate through full professor, as well as independent scholars and qualified practitioners.
- Single and co-authored works accepted. At least one author should hold a current or recent affiliation with a recognized institution of higher learning.
- Submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under concurrent review elsewhere.
Manuscript Format
- Length: Articles 5,000–12,000 words; Notes & Comments 2,500–5,000 words; Book Reviews 1,500–2,500 words. Longer works considered by prior arrangement.
- Abstract: 150–250 words, plus 4–6 keywords.
- File: Microsoft Word (.docx) or PDF, double-spaced, 12-point serif, one-inch margins, numbered pages.
- Anonymized: Remove all author-identifying information from the manuscript and file metadata for blind review. Provide identifying details on a separate title page only.
Citations & Style
- Law: footnotes in current Bluebook form.
- Humanities & Philosophy: Chicago Manual of Style (notes-and-bibliography).
- Policy & Social Science: Chicago author-date or APA, applied consistently.
- American English spelling; original-language quotations accompanied by translation.
Scholarly Standards
- A clear thesis stated in the introduction and defended throughout.
- Engagement with the leading existing literature, and fair treatment of counterarguments.
- All empirical claims supported by cited, verifiable sources; datasets and code available on request where applicable.
- Original work only. Plagiarism or undisclosed use of generative AI in authorship is grounds for immediate rejection.
Review & Decision
- Editorial screen within 4 weeks; full peer review typically within 11–12 weeks.
- Decisions: accept · accept with revisions · revise & resubmit · decline.
- The Journal retains first-publication rights; authors retain copyright and may post the accepted version to institutional repositories after an embargo period.
Institutional & Scholarly Access
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The full contents of the Journal are reserved for registered readers and subscribing institutions. Universities, libraries, research institutes, and secondary schools may register for licensed access for their faculty and students. Individual scholars may request a personal reading account.
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Editorial Board
The Journal is governed by an editorial board of Princeton alumni and researchers, with contributing researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and other leading institutions, supported by an advisory council and a peer-review panel drawn from partner institutions.
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Managing Editor
Michael Brand
Researcher · University of California, Berkeley — Goldman School of Public Policy
Michael Brand is an award-winning researcher at the University of California, Berkeley's Goldman School of Public Policy, where his work focuses on the intersection of digital infrastructure, environmental sustainability, energy regulation, and public policy. His research examines the often-overlooked physical and environmental footprint of the internet — including the sustainability of subsea telecommunications cables, data-center energy and water consumption, and emerging approaches to powering large-scale digital infrastructure. At Berkeley he has worked with Professor Nicole Starosielski on sustainable global communications infrastructure, and founded and teaches Building a Sustainable Internet, a student-led course on sustainable digital infrastructure. His work has been supported through Berkeley's undergraduate research programs, presented at academic and industry conferences, and published in venues including the Stanford Undergraduate Research Journal. He is a recipient of the 2026 AASHE Student Leadership Award and a Special Recognition Award at the 2026 Tech Capital Global Awards.