Editorial Policies

Open Access Policy

All articles published by AfSol Journal are made available under an open access license. Everyone has free and unlimited access to the full-text of all articles published in the Journal. All articles published by the Journal can be cited in other publications free of charge under the sole condition of proper accreditation of the author and original Publisher.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful tool, but it should not replicate or replace human experience, original thought, and personal perspective. What’s more, training large AI models is an energy- and resource-intensive process, with significant impacts on the environment. Given these considerations, authors are encouraged to be thoughtful and judicious in determining the net benefit of AI application and usage in their publications.

As a research organization committed to the development of innovative solutions, AI presents significant opportunities. But as an organization that looks beyond homogeneous thinking, the IPSS African Solutions Journal will always prioritize original ideas, critical thinking, and the human creative experience above all else. The policy outlined below presents our guidelines for responsible AI usage in IPSS African Solutions Journal publications.

AI Usage in AfSol Publications: Guidelines

AI is a tool, not an author: AI is a tool that can be used to support our work and maximize our impact, but its outputs must always be validated and reviewed by the publication author or authors. Publication author(s) remain responsible and accountable for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work, regardless of the use of AI applications.

Plan deliberate usage: Before pen touches paper, map your planned usage of AI tools – see chart below for examples. For external (non- IPSS African Solutions Journal) authors, please share your planned application of AI tools with your IPSS African Solutions Journal point of contact for note in IPSS African Solutions Journal’s pipeline submission.

Transparency and disclosure: Upon submission of a piece for IPSS African Solutions Journal publication, authors must disclose to reviewers and editors how generative AI tools were used in the development of a piece (internal disclosure), and the human review it has undergone to ensure accuracy. For externally facing research products, an external disclosure is required for the publication of any AI- generated images or video. External disclosure (in the acknowledgements, methodology, or other appropriate sections) may be requested for substantial use of AI in a research publication. Any published texts for which an AI tool’s output is included verbatim at length must include citations of AI usage in line with IPSS African Solutions Journal’s research integrity and plagiarism policies. For planning purposes, some examples of AI usage for internal disclosure upon submission are listed in the table below. These examples are intended to be illustrative, not exhaustive:

Phase AI usage

Brainstorming topic exploration, idea generation, horizon scanning, research design, document review, literature review, evidence extraction, article summarization, synthesis, data collection/analysis, data extraction, dataset cleaning, simulation/modeling, statistical assistance, writing drafting text, citation support, figures and visualizations, integrity checks, plagiarism detection, AI-use transparency tools, data integrity validation, editing draft for coherence/cogency, translation of sources, translation of drafts for non-native English speakers.

Compliance with existing policy: The use of AI in IPSS African Solutions Journal publications must comply with any existing policies and guidelines in place, including IPSS African Solutions Journal’s policies on research integrity, plagiarism, research review and approval.

Proprietary and sensitive information in LLMs: Individuals should not submit personal, proprietary, or sensitive data into large language models (LLMs) without first confirming that inputs will be appropriately protected and data privacy will not be compromised.

Authors should carefully review the terms and conditions of the AI tools they use. They should avoid using AI tools that restrict their own use of the content or that of any other party, including AfSol.

Verification and source integrity: Large language models remain imperfect tools – accuracy should not be assumed, and author verification is essential. Authors must ensure references are real, accurate, and correctly cited; “hallucinated” or altered citations are grounds for rejection. The IPSS African Solutions Journal may use screening tools, stylistic review, citation checks, and editorial judgment to evaluate undisclosed AI use (recognizing detectors are probabilistic). If concerns arise around the originality and integrity of a piece, IPSS African Solutions Journal may request drafts, notes, or other original documentation from author(s).

As with any publication, IPSS African Solutions Journal will assess a piece across three parameters:

Argument integrity: Is the author presenting an original and compelling argument, backed and cited by trusted sources?
Author authenticity: Does the proposed piece reflect the author’s authentic voice and individual expert perspectives
Source integrity: Is the piece well-cited, with author’s data accounted for through authoritative, accurate sources?

African Solutions Journal retains final approval for publication of all pieces: Undisclosed and deceptive use of AI undermines trust and threatens the reputational integrity of scholars and host institutions, alike. IPSS African Solutions Journal reserves the right to reject any pieces that we believe contain unacknowledged or undisclosed use of AI tools. Please disclose any and all AI usage for proper attribution and acknowledgement. In addition, IPSS African Solutions Journal will employ a ‘two strikes’ with any author – repeated concerns around undisclosed AI usage will result in the loss of eligibility to contribute as a IPSS African Solutions Journal author. This policy is a living document to support research integrity in the application of quickly evolving AI technologies. The IPSS African Solutions Journal will review and update this policy at least annually to track best practices across leading journals and universities.

Plagiarism Statement

A text similarity above 10% will be considered as plagiarism.

Copyright Agreement

Authors grant copyright to the Institute for Peace and Security Studies for the publication of articles in print and online. Upon publication, articles are made available under the open access policy that permits anyone to share, use, reproduce, and redistribute the material in any medium, provided that the original author(s) are properly credited and the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University is acknowledged as the source.

This copyright agreement is subject to Ethiopian copyright Law.

In the event that the parties to this agreement, either individually or collectively, are, held responsible for damages or the costs of a legal process due to the content or promotion of the article, the authors agree to release the publisher from the claims of any third party and to compensate the publisher for any resulting legal costs.

Disclaimer Statement

The views expressed in the AfSol Journal are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect what the Journal/ IPSS stands for.

Privacy Statement

The names and e-mail addresses entered in this journal’s website will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purposes or to any other party.