Soumettre un article (Version française)
For potential contributors to Le Rubicon: advice and information to consider before submitting your article.
Thank you for choosing to submit an article for publication to Le Rubicon. As you know, each article submitted is subject to a double-blind review by acknowledged researchers chosen for their knowledge of the subject. The chief committee may also make some suggestions to you by the end of the reviewing process, to ensure consistence between the publications.
To ensure that this process takes place as quickly and smoothly as possible, we are providing you with these editorial guidelines for the preparation of your text.
Our ambition
Le Rubicon publishes short articles, from approximately 2,000 to 4,000 words, and has high standards in terms of content. Peer review is an additional guarantee in this respect. As Le Rubicon is a French-language platform, we only publish texts in French. It does not mean that we would not consider publishing texts originally written in English, but they would need to be translated into French to be published.
Le Rubicon aims to be a platform accessible to the widest possible readership, from interested citizens to members of government, from soldiers to admirals, from graduate students to tenured professors. We would like to remind you that we do not charge readers nor authors nor institutions, and operate on a voluntary basis.
Our aim is to publish articles by contributors who have experience with the subject they write about, either because they have devoted time to it in their research work or because they have significant field expertise. In this sense, our platform is open to analyses by the military, senior civil servants, members of NGOs or international organisations, journalists, etc. Please note, however, that we do not publish reports or op-eds.
The texts published on Le Rubicon are the sole responsibility of their authors and in no way represent the institutions to which they belong, nor the partner institutions, which are the NSA, the IRSEM and the Centre Thucydide.
Submission process
Submit an article. Start by sending us a short abstract (200 words maximum) to info@lerubicon.org with “Proposal” in the subject line. The abstract should include your main argument and why your experience qualifies you to address the topic in question. Feel free to attach your CV or a short biography. Wait until you hear from us before submitting a full article.
If we accept your proposal and request a full submission, the review and editing of your article can take anywhere from two weeks to a month, depending on the availability of reviewers. Please note that if we ask you to submit an article, it does not mean that your article has been accepted. Le Rubicon has a thorough review process. If we reject your article, we may recommend other publications that might be more suitable. Don’t let a rejection discourage you. Try again in the future with a new idea.
Reviewing process. All our publications are anonymously reviewed by experts. For each publication, at least two experts are solicited. Once your article has been validated by these reviewers, it is submitted to the chief committee for their opinion. They may make some suggestions before a decision is made to publish your article. If we accept your article, you should expect questions and criticism aimed at improving it. Don’t take it the wrong way: these reviews are intended to help you improve the article. Our aim is to publish the best article possible.
Track changes. If we choose to publish your article, you will receive a draft with the changes and comments made using the track changes function in Microsoft Word. Please make your revisions in Microsoft Word, always leaving the “track changes” function activated, and return them as an attachment.
Format. Submissions should be sent by email as single-spaced Word attachments (no Google docs) to the generic Le Rubicon address with “Submission” in the email subject line. Please do not send your text until we have validated your proposal (see above). If you do not receive a reply within a week, please feel free to send us another email.
No double submissions. Please do not send us an article that has been submitted elsewhere, unless you have formally withdrawn it from the other publication.
Personal data and copyright. The evaluation and publication process requires us to collect personal data (surname, first name, email address, institution, etc.), which we also use to produce statistics for activity reports. You can contact us at any time to request that your data be modified or deleted (info@lerubicon.org). Publishing in Le Rubicon does not require you to transfer your copyright, of which you remain the sole owner. Articles are published under the Creative Common CC-BY-NC-ND licence (no commercial use).
Editorial standards
Length. Proposed texts should be between 2,000 and 4,000 words in length.
Grab the reader’s attention from the first word. Start your article with a provocative question, an anecdote, a shocking fact or a humorous observation.
State your argument clearly and directly in your first or second paragraph in one or two sentences. Then give us the substance of your argument in the body of the article. Use as much evidence as possible. If it is a long article on a complex set of issues, consider using section breaks with titles. And finally, give us a strong conclusion that summarises your argument and offers a clear way forward. Don’t just describe, prescribe.
No jargon. We want your articles to be widely read and understood, so don’t use language that is only understandable to insiders. This includes the use of acronyms and abbreviations: always write the full name the first time it appears, followed by the abbreviation in brackets. For example, the first time the UN is referred to, write “United Nations (UN)” before continuing with the rest of the article using “UN”.
All quotations must be indicated in quotation marks (“…”) and any break in the quotation must be indicated as follows: […]. If a quotation is inserted in another quotation already in quotation marks, use simple quotation marks: “like this, for ‘example’”.
Use clear and engaging language. Be careful not to use sentences that are too long. If your subject is theoretical, try to illustrate your point with concrete examples. Every article can be fascinating! There is no reason why the subject of your text should be dry, dull or lifeless.
Don’t be afraid to insert yourself into the article. Since we attach great importance to personal experience, we want you to feel comfortable putting yourself forward in the article. If your analysis is based on your deployment experiences, within a government or field research, mentioning this at the beginning of the article is an excellent way to establish your credibility with the reader.
Do not assume the reader’s knowledge. Be sure to explain the concepts and contexts that are fundamental to your area of specialisation.
Cite your work. All factual statements, all sources, the arguments of other thinkers must be referenced with an integrated hyperlink. It is better to over-source than to under-source: assume that facts which are common knowledge to you and your peers may not be so to our readers.
Do not use footnotes or endnotes, insert hyperlinks directly into the text. Do not insert URLs in comment bubbles or in brackets in the text. If you read Le Rubicon, you will see what integrated hyperlinks look like. Try as much as possible to create links to other articles in Le Rubicon in order to anchor your arguments in the debates and exchanges that have taken place on our site.
Plagiarism, copying, counterfeiting, use of artificial intelligence or any other process that does not guarantee the originality and authenticity of the content. If the paper submitted corresponds to one of these cases, it will be rejected, the counterfeiting author(s) will be informed, and the candidate will no longer be able to publish with us.
Terms and quotations in foreign languages. Any term or phrase in a foreign language must be in italics, including hyperlinks.
Bio. Please add your biography (two to three sentences) at the bottom of your article, possibly including a link to a social media account.
Pen names and anonymity. We only authorise authors to use pen names in the rare cases where their career or personal safety would be seriously threatened by the publication of an article on a specific subject. If you think you qualify for this protection, let us know when you submit the article. If you are authorised to publish and you work for the government or in the armed forces, you can add a disclaimer to your biography stating that your opinions do not represent those of the organisation you work for.
If you are unsure about the editorial rule to follow, please refer to this article published on our platform.
If you have any questions, please contact us at this address: