Special Issue on: The Role of Multinational Corporations in the Actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa
Editor of the Special Issue: Dr. Eghosa Ekhator, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of Derby, UK
Overview
The Editorial Committee of the Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy invites submissions for a Special Issue on The Role of Multinational Corporations in the Actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa.
The 193-Member United Nations General Assembly formally adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on 25 September 2015, along with a set of bold new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which the former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed as a universal, integrated and transformative vision for a better world. In January 2016, the 17 SDGs came into force. Thus, within the next fifteen years, these new goals apply universally, and countries will intensify efforts to end all forms of ‘poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring no one is left behind’ (UN website 2018). Some of these global (and inter-connected) goals include end to poverty, gender equality and quality education amongst others.
Various state and non-state actors are expected to collaborate to actualize the SDGs across various levels of governance, from the international, to the regional, national and sub-national levels. It is widely expected that Africa’s natural resources and the multinational corporations (MNCs) engaged in resource exploitation in the continent will play an integral role in providing an enabling environment for economic growth and the successful implementation of the SDGs in the continent generally.
Despite the increasing influence of MNCs on the actualization or implementation of development networks such as the SDGs, there is paucity of research on this issue in the context of SDG implementation in Africa (especially in the extractive sector). Hence, this call for articles is a direct response to Caroline Witte and John Dilyard in their recent special issue on ‘The contribution of multinational enterprises to the Sustainable Development Goals’. They advocated for further research to be conducted on MNCs contributions to the SDGs.
The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy invites scholarly articles for publication in a special issue on the subject “The role of Multinational Corporations in the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa”. The Journal is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal that fosters the dissemination of scholarly research work by teaching and research scholars in Africa and across the world in the area of sustainable development law and policy. This special issue will be published in Spring 2020.
Although authors are free to choose any topic that is related to this broad theme, the journal is particularly interested in recent developments in Africa or best practices from other parts of the world that could inform legal and policy reform Africa. For guidance purposes, submissions addressing the following issues are particularly encouraged:
• The relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and SDGs in Africa
• The role of Local Communities in implementing SDGs in Africa
• Financing or funding SDGs in Africa
• Legitimacy of MNCs activities, social license and SDGs in Africa
• Land and resource governance strategies and their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Human rights, SDGs and MNCs
• African Union and SDGs
• Empirical studies evidencing SDGs in Africa
• Theoretical underpinnings of SDGs
• Neocolonialism and SDGs in Africa
Country case studies on any of the above issues are highly encouraged. Comparative studies engaging two or more regions or countries in Africa are also of particular interest to this journal.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Length and Footnotes
1) Articles should be between 5000-8000 words and should advance legal scholarship and knowledge in a specific area of sustainable development law and policy.
2) Articles should include an abstract of approximately 250 words that is not an extract from the article itself.
3) Details of the author should be supplied as the first footnote, attached by an asterisk to the author’s name.
Form of Submission
4) Articles must be submitted in Word format and sent as an email attachment to e.ekhator@derby.ac.uk with copy (cc) to info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng
5) Contributions will only be considered for publication if they comply with the style guide. All citations should be as footnotes and accord with the Oxford Standard for Legal Citation (OSCOLA).
6) Authors should please make use of the following checklist prior to submission:
o an abstract is included;
o headings are consecutively numbered without automatic numbering;
o headings are not underlined;
o paragraphs are not separated by a full blank line, but only by an indent at the beginning of the new paragraph;
o footnotes are consecutively numbered by way of automatic numbering;
o footnotes are not separated by a full blank line;
o footnotes appear at the end of each page of the manuscript and not at the end of the manuscript;
o quotations have been checked for accuracy; and
o references comply with the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA).
Deadlines
7) Only articles submitted on or before 12 noon on 31 March 2020 would be considered for publication in this special issue. All papers should be submitted by email. Deadlines are firm. Articles submitted after the deadline may not be published.
Submissions
Authors should send their submission to the editor of the special issue Dr. Eghosa Ekhator by email e.ekhator@derby.ac.uk, with copy (cc) to info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng on or before the deadline. Selected papers that scale the peer-review process will be published in Volume 11 Issue 1 of the Journal. Accepted submissions which cannot be accommodated in the special issue will be placed in the next issue following. All authors will be duly notified of the outcome of their submissions.
Evaluation
8) Contributions are submitted to at least two referees and the identities of the contributors and referees are kept confidential.
9) Further details about the Journal can be found at: http://www.ogeesinstitute.edu.ng/#!research-and-publications/c7o1
Questions and Enquiries
All questions or enquiries should be directed to:
Dr. Eghosa Ekhator
Senior Lecturer in Law
University of Derby, UK
The Editor-in-Chief (The roles of Multinational Corporations in the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals in Special Issue)
Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy
Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria
Email: e.ekhator@derby.ac.uk, with copy (cc) to info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng
ABOUT THE JOURNAL
The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy, Print ISSN 978-0-9920099-0-8
The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal published by the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria. It is published in June (Spring) and October (Fall) by the Afe Babalola University Press, Nigeria.
Since the first issue was published in 2012, the Journal has gained increased recognition for fostering the dissemination of scholarly research work by teaching and research scholars in Africa and across the world in the area of sustainable development law and policy. The thematic focus of the journal spans across broad areas of sustainable development law and policy ranging from the economic, social and environmental dimensions. As such papers that explore broad themes of sustainable development such as banking, environment, natural resources, public private partnerships, alternative dispute resolutions, peace, and conflict studies are normally given top consideration.
The Editorial Board of the JSDLP is composed of international development scholars and experts from Italy, United Kingdom, Indonesia, Nigeria, Canada and the United States would provide leadership and lend their expertise to promoting the journal internationally.
The Journal of Sustainable Development Law and Policy is available online for download on this website, while we welcome subscriptions for hard copies at our standard rates. We provide a discounted rate for institutional subscriptions from universities, colleges and corporate organizations.
For more information, please visit http://www.ajol.info/index.php/jsdlp/index
For subscriptions, please contact: info@ogeesinstitute.edu.ng,
Tel: +234 81 40000 988
Peer Review Process
All manuscripts are peer reviewed prior to publication. The JSDLP utilizes a double-blind peer review process, to ensure originality, scholarly relevance, and readability- which means that both the reviewer and author’s identities are concealed from the reviewers, and vice versa, throughout the review process. To facilitate this, authors are required to submit manuscripts that would not give away their identity.
After respective submission deadlines, members of the Editorial Committee read all submissions and agree which should go forward to the review process. Referees are then assigned by the Committee from a pool of referees according to their expertise. Reviewers are sent a manuscript review template (attached), which provides guidance on key review indicators and on how to communicate review results.
The factors that are taken into account in review are as follows:
Relevance: Is this paper relevant to the thematic focus of this journal?
Originality: Are the results/ideas novel and previously unpublished?
Significance: Does the paper canvass and discuss ideas that significantly advance ormove knowledge forward)
Soundness: Is this paper technically sound and complete?
Are the claims supported by theoretical/ experimental/empirical results?
Ethics: Is there any ethical issue?
Readability: Is the paper well organized and easy to understand?
Language: Is the paper written in correct English and style?
Citations: Are all sources properly cited in accordance with the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities, which is the house style for the journal?
Referees may accept the manuscript, reject the manuscript or might require a revision for style and/or content. Each Reviewer will give a recommendation about publication of a manuscript according to the following list of options:
• Accept- No revision needed.
• Accept- Minor revisions needed.
• Major revisions needed- Suggest revision & resubmission.
• Decline (provide appropriate reasons in comments).
After the reviewer’s report is received, the paper is assigned to an Associate Editor for the review/redrafting/editing process, which can be substantial, depending on the article. Upon receipt of the revised article from the author, and after final approval by referees and associated editor, the Editor-in-Chief reviews the paper and makes a final determination on whether or not to include the paper for publication in the JSDLP based on the recommendations of the reviewers and associated editor. The Editor-in-Chief then issues a written confirmation of acceptance or rejection to the author. Once an article is accepted, the Managing Editor will carry out a thorough desk edit and liaise with Afe Babalola University Press/the author/Associate Editor over author queries, publisher proofs and corrections.
The JSDLP strives to ensure that the time between submission and final decision are as reasonable as possible, without compromising quality.
Publication Frequency
This journal publishes one issue per volume, and two volumes per year.
Paper Submission Fees
This journal charges no submission or processing fees.
Copyright Notice
Copyright over published articles belong to the Institute for Oil, Gas, Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (OGEES), Afe Babalola University, Nigeria
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