Blog Submission Guidelines

We are happy to receive proposals for pieces to be published on our blog. In principle, we do not mind if your piece was published elsewhere before but would like to know about it. If you want to pitch or submit an article please first make sure that it is dealing with a topic relevant to us by checking our blog categories, the initiatives we work on and previous pieces published on this site.

Please note that usually we do not cover individual countries. We are most interested in regional and global developments and trends. The topic most relevant to us is global democracy. Pieces should not be too technical.

Generally, we publish two formats: News pieces and opinion pieces.

News pieces can range from 350 to 700 words. They usually provide summary reports on relevant events, developments, studies or publications that provide our audience a quick and easy overview. Other than the conclusion news pieces should refrain from offering opinions and comments of the author.

Opinion pieces can range from 500 to 1,500 words depending on how relevant the topic is for us. They should provide an informed comment on recent developments or questions of general relevance. Book reviews are also categorized as opinion pieces. Usually the author will have special experience or expertise that qualifies him/her to offer an opinion. 

We are flexible in what and how we publish and may divert from the above in exceptional cases. 

Before drafting a piece contact us to learn whether we think it may be interesting. 

If you decide to submit a piece, please follow these guidelines:

• Tell us whether it is a news piece or opinion piece
• Identify the blog topic you believe is most relevant
• Suggest a title with a length of at most 70 characters (including spaces) 
• Let us know whether it is an original piece or whether it was already published elsewhere
• Separate sections with subtitles
• Avoid bullet point lists if possible and use full sentences instead
• Suggest a tweet with relevant hashtags and handles to promote your piece on Twitter
• Send a link to one or two pieces you published elsewhere previously
• Send your draft as an .rtf or .docx attachment
• If you wish to include one or two graphics or images please send them as separate attachments and indicate in the document where you believe they should be inserted. Provide full information on image sources.
• Suggest what featured image could be used for your piece

By sending your piece you agree that it will be published under a Creative Commons license as explained here. Please indicate should you prefer a different arrangement. Note that we do not offer any pay.

Send your pitch or draft to editors@democracywithoutborders.org. 

We endeavour to respond to all submissions but ask for your understanding that we are not able to respond to inquiries on why a pitch is not of interest or why a piece was not accepted.