Abstract
Last time Cooperation and Conflict moved editorial homes, the Journal was a young quadragenarian. Next year, CoCo is turning 60! We have now edited the Journal for the better part of a year (volume 58 issue 4 being our first print issue), and it is time that we introduce ourselves to our readers in the tradition of past editors.
Once a journal firmly anchored in Nordic themes, questions, and empirics, with contributors predominantly from the Nordic region, CoCo has over the last decades gone through profound changes. While proudly maintaining its Nordic “touch” and persona, the Journal has gradually secured itself a position as a high-ranking, generalist International Relations (IR) journal. In our view, this is testimony not only to how Nordic IR research has become more internationally oriented, but also to how Nordic scholarly ideas and contributions have acquired broad international recognition. Today’s CoCo publishes on a broad range of themes—be they theoretically or more empirically driven—and authors from the entire discipline send their manuscripts to the Journal. Especially over the past two decades, the Journal has slowly drifted away from its core empirical focus on Northern Europe. This development has without doubt contributed to placing the journal where it stands within the IR discipline today.
CoCo was born in 1965 under the auspices of the Nordic Committee for International Politics (NORDSAM), funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers. Since 1992—and after the funding for NORDSAM came to an abrupt end—the journal has been managed by the Nordic International Studies Association (NISA). Despite its (relatively) young age, the Journal has had a strong pedigree of illustrious shepherds: Krister Wahlbäck (1965–1969), Klaus Törnudd (1969–1971), Johan Jørgen Holst (1972–1975), Nikolaj Petersen (1976–1980), Christer Jönsson (1981–1982), Lauri Karvonen (1983–1985), Arild Underdal (1986–1989), Christian Thune (1990–1993), Bengt Sundelius (1994–1998), Iver B. Neumann (1999–2001), Knud Erik Jørgensen (2002–2005), Tarja Väyrynen and Frank Möller (2006–2009), Lee Miles and Jan Ångström (2010–2013), Annika Björkdahl and Martin Hall (2014–2016), and Annika Björkdahl (2016–2023).
For our part, we cannot overstate the importance of the systematic work done by our immediate predecessors in Lund to internationalize and professionalize CoCo. We would particularly like to thank Annika Björkdahl for her investment in and commitment to the Journal. As CoCo’s new editors, we will do our very best to honor this legacy.
Taking over such a well-run product of Nordic cooperation left us pondering where we would fit into its long lineage of custodians. Our first months on the job have been spent implementing the key changes we envisioned for the journal, when we first decided to take on this task. In line with previous editorial handovers, we do not envision a broad change in the editorial direction of the journal. Even though CoCo has grown tremendously over its five decades of existence, its aim to cater to “different academic schools as to the aims, possibilities and methods of the study of international relations”—as the first chair of the editorial board, Nils Andrén, wrote in the inaugural issue of the Journal in 1965—remains the same. The same goes for its editorial premise, which Andrén (1965) laid out as Some scholars are cautious, others are bold, some may appear to distrust creative imagination, others may seem rash and over-confident, some prefer a historical approach, other may believe in quantification and in the application of model-building and similar theoretical methods, some are driven by scholarly curiosity, others tend to be more policyoriented in their research. Within the limits set by standards of scholarship Cooperation and Conflict hopes to be ecumenic rather than sectarian in its attitude to different schools of objectives, methodology and theory, existing in the field of international politics.
Close to two decades ago, former editors Tarja Väyrynen and Frank Möller (2005) emphasized that CoCo “should actively challenge established ‘truths’ and taken-for-granted approaches and methods in IR and aspire to be at the forefront of the theoretical and methodological evolution of IR, supporting multidisciplinary, transcultural and critical approaches to the study of the international.” Our ambition for the Journal is to strengthen its reputation as a top-tier generalist IR journal through scholarship that is theoretically innovative, methodologically pluralist, empirically and historically rigorous, critical in outlook yet grounded in and with implications for key mainstream debates. If there is a specifically “Nordic” approach to IR, then we believe it represents precisely this: grounding a more critical (often European) approach within a more mainstream (often American) perspective. We believe the Journal’s grounding in a Nordic tradition is precisely what will distinguish it from other journals: critical, yet mainstream in its approach. Working to highlight this distinctive quality of the journal by bringing it to the fore as the pluralist meeting place will strengthen its global outreach.
As new editors, we see it as our core task to preserve CoCo’s deep-rooted Nordic identity, while also working to consolidate its strong position and reputation in the broader field of IR. Although the ambition to speak to a broader audience goes for both theoretical and empirical contributions, we will nevertheless retain a certain geographical bias toward (northern) European issues—in line with the mission of the Journal.
Also in terms of organization, the Journal will still be recognizable, with every issue containing high-quality research articles, an annual special issue on an innovative theme, and occasional forums with shorter contributions. We are also proud to continue some of the key innovations of the previous editorial team at Lund, including the innovative Best Reviewer Prize and a focus on scholarly dialogue and strong special issues.
Yet for all the importance of tradition, we also believe that some new ventures are necessary to bolster the journal’s position as a core platform for high-quality scholarly exchange in IR. Some of these have already been implemented, while others will be introduced over the coming issues. The three most important are as follows:
First, we have expanded the maximum length of submitted Research Articles from 8000 to 10,000 words. We do this to make space for more developed and in-depth arguments and anchoring in a broader and more diverse scholarly literature. Should reviewers prove to be exigent, authors will be given up to 12,000 words to revise.
Second, and in line with the above change, we have introduced two new article categories. In addition to the traditional Research Articles, we now offer two new submission categories: Theory Notes and Forums. Theory Notes are shorter pieces focusing on conceptual and theoretical contributions without necessarily providing new empirical evidence. They should be 4000–5000 words in length. In Forums, a team of authors contribute with reflections on a specific topic within 12,000 words. CoCo will no longer accept reviews of single books—but we will occasionally publish discussions of books in the form of a Review Essay or Forum. Faithful readers of will recognize that these changes are not entirely new, as they dovetail with earlier article categories that the journal has had in the past, including symposia (now covered by the Forum) and state-of-the-art essays or shorter debate pieces (now covered by Theory Notes).
Finally, we will introduce one venture to make the journal more inclusive. As former editor Bengt Sundelius wrote in 1994, Breaking new theoretical or methodological pathways is certainly not the prerogative of our senior professional core. Bringing to the attention of our readers the fresh viewpoints and innovative research approaches of the next generation of academic leaders is a pleasant task for an editor.
In order to better succeed in this task, we launch an Early Career Initiative, where scholars from the editorial board will offer input and mentorship to eligible early-career scholars with a view to improve manuscripts.
CoCo is “one of the babies of Nordic cooperation” as former editor Knud Erik Jørgensen (2002) put it, but it is also a child of the Cold War. Revisiting the Editorial of the Journal’s inaugural issue makes it clear how dramatically the Nordic landscape of security and cooperation has changed over the past five decades. The recent Finnish and Swedish membership to North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has created a Nordic convergence on security issues, which for the first time in centuries unites Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden in the same defense alliance. The relevance of Nordic perspectives and the politics of the Nordic states have not decreased in importance. In fact, where the past decades may have witnessed a broadening of the gaze beyond Northern Europe, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine we now see a renewed focus on the Nordic regional sphere. As the Journal becomes a sexagenarian in 2025, we will build on this and mark the occasion with a special issue on Nordic International Relations.
Thirty years ago, then-Editor Bengt Sundelius (1994) envisioned that CoCo “should be an obvious reference point for students of international studies throughout the world.” Our ambition remains the same today. The current editorial team is based at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) in Oslo, Norway, with Tora Naterstad as Editorial Assistant. We look forward to working with our Editorial Advisory Board and our owner the Nordic International Studies Association (NISA) to fulfill this ambition. As a scholarly journal can be no better than its constitutive parts, we are also looking forward to collaborating with you—our authors, reviewers, and readers—in fulfilling these ambitions.