JACKPOT is published biannually. Authors wishing to contribute to the Journal may submit their manuscripts throughout the year. For consideration in a particular issue, authors are encouraged to observe the following submission deadlines:

• 15 February — Summer Issue

• 15 August — Winter Issue

Manuscripts received after the relevant deadline may be considered for the subsequent issue, subject to the editorial and peer-review process.

Manuscripts submitted to JACKPOT must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. By submitting a manuscript, the author(s) confirm that the work has not been published previously, in whole or in substantial part, and is not simultaneously under review by another journal or publication.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that all sources, quotations, data, figures, tables, images, and other materials used in their manuscripts are appropriately acknowledged and referenced.

JACKPOT welcomes the following categories of scholarly contributions:

1. Research Articles — Original theoretical, empirical, conceptual, or policy-oriented research.

2. Review Articles — Critical and comprehensive reviews of significant developments in a particular area of military technology, strategic studies, defence innovation, or contemporary warfare.

3. Case Studies — Detailed analysis of specific military operations, technological developments, conflicts, systems, doctrines, or strategic experiences.

4. Conceptual and Theoretical Papers — Contributions that develop, refine, or critically examine concepts and theories relating to military power, technology, communication, and warfare.

5. Technical-Strategic Analyses — Interdisciplinary studies examining the strategic and military implications of emerging and advanced technologies.

6. Book Reviews — Critical reviews of recent scholarly books relevant to the Journal’s scope.

Research articles should normally be between 5,000 and 8,000 words, inclusive of the abstract, keywords, main text, footnotes, tables, and references.

Each research article should include:

• Abstract: 150–200 words

• Keywords: 5–7 keywords

• Main Text: Clearly structured and appropriately headed

• References/Footnotes: Complete and accurate

• Author Information: Brief institutional affiliation and professional biography

Authors may submit manuscripts exceeding the recommended word limit where the subject requires more extensive treatment. Such submissions will be considered at the discretion of the Editorial Board.

Book reviews should normally be approximately 1,000–1,500 words and should provide a critical assessment of the book’s principal arguments, methodology, contribution, strengths, limitations, and relevance to the field. Preference will be given to recent scholarly publications addressing issues within the scope of JACKPOT.

Research articles should generally follow a clear scholarly structure appropriate to the nature of the research. Depending on the subject and methodology, manuscripts may include:

• Title

• Author name(s) and institutional affiliation(s)

• Abstract

• Keywords

• Introduction

• Literature Review and/or Theoretical Framework

• Research Methodology, where applicable

• Analysis and Discussion

• Findings

• Conclusion

• Policy or Strategic Implications, where appropriate

• Footnotes/References

The Editorial Board recognizes that technical, conceptual, historical, operational, and strategic studies may require different structures. Authors may therefore adopt a structure appropriate to their research while maintaining academic clarity and coherence.

All submitted manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening to determine their relevance to the scope of JACKPOT, originality, scholarly quality, methodological soundness, and compliance with the Journal’s submission requirements.

Submissions that meet the preliminary requirements are subjected to double-blind peer review, in which the identities of authors and reviewers are concealed from each other.

The Editorial Board may seek two or more independent peer reviews, depending upon the nature and specialization of the manuscript. Where necessary, additional reviewers may be invited.

Following peer review, a manuscript may receive one of the following decisions:

• Accept

• Accept subject to Minor Revisions

• Revise and Resubmit / Major Revisions

• Reject

Authors may be required to undertake one or more rounds of revision. A revised manuscript should address the reviewers’ comments carefully and should be accompanied by a response indicating how the substantive recommendations have been addressed.

The duration of the peer-review process may vary depending on the subject matter, availability of appropriate reviewers, reviewer expertise, and the responsiveness of reviewers and authors.

The final decision regarding publication rests with the Editorial Board of JACKPOT.

All submissions are subject to similarity detection using appropriate plagiarism-detection software. JACKPOT maintains a strict policy against plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication, falsification, and other forms of academic misconduct.

Authors must ensure that all ideas, arguments, quotations, data, images, tables, figures, and other materials originating from other sources are properly acknowledged.

Where substantial portions of a manuscript are found to have been plagiarized or improperly reproduced, the manuscript may be rejected. Where academic misconduct is identified after publication, the Journal reserves the right to take appropriate corrective action in accordance with accepted standards of publication ethics.

Authors are required to disclose any substantive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) or generative AI tools in the preparation of a manuscript where such use goes beyond routine spelling, grammar, formatting, or language assistance.

AI tools must not be listed as authors. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, integrity, arguments, analysis, citations, data, and conclusions contained in their manuscripts.

AI-generated material should not be presented as original human scholarship, and authors must verify all AI-assisted content and references before submission. The Editorial Board reserves the right to request clarification regarding the use of AI during manuscript preparation.

JACKPOT follows the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition (Full Note) citation system unless otherwise specified by the Editorial Board.

Authors should ensure that:

• All sources cited in the manuscript are accurately documented.

• Footnotes contain complete bibliographic information in accordance with Chicago 17th Edition.

• Sources cited in the text are traceable and verifiable.

• Online sources include appropriate URLs or persistent identifiers where applicable.

• Quotations and borrowed material are properly attributed.

JACKPOT accepts manuscripts written in British English.

Authors should observe the following stylistic conventions:

1. Dates should generally be written as January 1, 2026.

2. Acronyms should be written in full at first mention, followed by the acronym in parentheses. For example, Artificial Intelligence (AI).

3. The term “per cent” should be used in running text rather than the % sign, except where technical or tabular presentation requires otherwise.

4. Military, technological, scientific, and technical terminology should be used accurately and consistently.

5. Authors should avoid unnecessary jargon and define specialized terminology where it may not be familiar to an interdisciplinary readership.

6. Headings and subheadings should be used consistently to improve readability.

Figures, graphs, tables, maps, photographs, diagrams, and other visual materials should be clearly numbered and appropriately titled.

Authors must provide complete references or source information for all visual materials that are not original.

Where applicable:

• Figures and tables should be referred to in the main text.

• Images should be of sufficient quality for publication, preferably 300 dpi or higher.

• Images should preferably be submitted in TIFF, JPEG, or PNG format.

• Authors are responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyrighted material where required.

• Classified, restricted, sensitive, or otherwise unauthorized military information must not be submitted for publication.

Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the submission channel designated by JACKPOT/PAIR.

Authors should submit:

1. The complete manuscript in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) format.

2. A separate title page containing:

   • Full name of the author(s)

   • Institutional affiliation

   • Designation, where applicable

   • Country

   • Email address

   • ORCID iD, where available

3. A brief author biography.

4. A statement confirming that the manuscript is original and is not under consideration elsewhere.

5. A Conflict of Interest Statement.

6. An Author Contribution Statement for manuscripts with more than one author.

7. Any relevant disclosure concerning the use of AI or generative AI tools.

8. Permissions for copyrighted figures, photographs, tables, or other reproduced material, where applicable.

The manuscript itself should be prepared in a manner that facilitates the double-blind peer-review process. Accordingly, identifying information about the author(s) should not appear within the main manuscript.

Publication Fee

JACKPOT does not charge any manuscript submission or peer-review fee. The Journal is committed to providing an accessible platform for international scholarship and therefore does not charge publication fees to authors based outside Pakistan.

For authors based in Pakistan, a publication fee is applicable only after a manuscript has been formally accepted for publication following completion of the editorial and double-blind peer-review process. The fee structure is based on the number of authors as follows:

No submission fee or peer-review fee is charged. No payment is required at the time of manuscript submission. The applicable publication fee is payable only after the manuscript has received a formal acceptance decision.

The publication fee contributes toward the Journal’s editorial administration, copyediting, proofreading, formatting, production, online publication, and related publishing costs. Payment of the publication fee has no influence on the editorial or peer-review decision.

Authors will be informed of the applicable fee and payment procedure with the formal acceptance notification.

JACKPOT may consider requests for a partial or full waiver of the publication fee for Pakistan-based authors in cases of demonstrated financial hardship or other exceptional circumstances. Waiver requests will be considered independently of the editorial and peer-review process.

Note: The applicable publication fee is determined by the number of authors listed on the final accepted manuscript. The Journal reserves the right to revise its publication-fee structure in the future, with any revised fee schedule being communicated through the Journal’s official publication policies.

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or its interpretation.

Where no conflict exists, authors should explicitly state:

“The author(s) declare no conflict of interest.”

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of their submitted work. Submission of a manuscript indicates that the author(s):

• Have substantially contributed to the research;

• Have approved the submitted version;

• Accept responsibility for the integrity of the work;

• Have appropriately acknowledged all sources;

• Have disclosed relevant conflicts of interest;

• Have obtained necessary permissions for reproduced material; and

• Have not submitted the manuscript simultaneously to another publication.

The Editorial Board of JACKPOT reserves the right to:

• Decline manuscripts that fall outside the Journal’s scope;

• Reject manuscripts that do not meet the required academic or ethical standards;

• Request revisions before or after peer review;

• Seek additional peer reviews where necessary;

• Make editorial and language corrections that do not alter the substance of an author’s argument;

• Withdraw or retract published material where serious ethical, academic, or factual concerns are subsequently established.

Submission of a manuscript does not guarantee publication. Final publication decisions rest with the Editorial Board following completion of the applicable editorial and peer-review procedures.