Per agreement with Professor Ji Weidong (Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, Editor-in-chief of AJLS), we (Drs. Bin Liang and Hong Lu) are serving as guest editors for a AJLS special issue (to be published in mid to late 2026). AJLS is a well-known reputable journal (which is indexed with ESCI and is ranked as Q2 according to Journal Citation ReportTM 2023) that provides an increasingly important Asian perspective to global law and society scholarship. AJLS peer-reviewed publications feature empirical and multi-disciplinary research and bring a unique perspective to socio-legal issues of global concerns with a comparative exploration of law and society topics. This special issue will feature the theme of ‘Law and Punishment in Asia’.
This special issue welcomes any original empirical research that features critical issues of law and punishment (broadly defined). In particular, we are seeking articles that cover relevant topics among Asian nations and societies, including but not limited to:
- Interconnections between law and punishment
- Penal policies
- Treatment of criminal offenders and ‘deviants’
- Public opinion on punishment
- Impact of punishment
Priorities will be given to studies that empirically address emerging and/or long-lasting issues in this field and emphasize unique features of Asian nations or societies. The overall goal of this special volume is to encourage critical studies in this field, uncover cutting-edge empirical research, and engage with world-wide studies of law and punishment from an Asian perspective.
Please keep in mind a number of things in your consideration and submission:
- The final manuscript will be published in English with an average length of 10,000 words. Please find specific author instructions here.
- We welcome empirical research articles with diverse methodologies and/or interdisciplinary approaches
- Research articles should feature socio-legal issues in the context of law and punishment (broadly defined)
- Preferences will be given to broad coverage of Asia, including all regions and areas; collaboration with scholars from Asian nations and societies would be welcome
- All finally selected manuscripts will undergo peer review
This special volume of AJLS will be coedited by Drs. Bin Liang of Oklahoma State University–Tulsa and Hong Lu of University of Nevada-Las Vegas. Manuscripts should be submitted directly to the editors (bin.liang@okstate.edu or hong.lu@unlv.edu) in MS WORD format. Manuscripts should represent unpublished original work. If you are potentially interested in contributing to this special issue, please send us via email: (1) a proposed title of your manuscript, and (2) an abstract (150 words) by December 15, 2024. The deadline for submissions of the full manuscript is December 1, 2025, and the projected publication is mid to late 2026.
Please send any inquiries to Drs. Bin Liang (bin.liang@okstate.edu) or Hong Lu (hong.lu@unlv.edu).
Guest editors: Drs. Bin Liang (Oklahoma State University-Tulsa) and Hong Lu (University of Nevada-Las Vegas)