Special Issues provide an opportunity to:

• Highlight emerging and innovative areas of research.
• Foster interdisciplinary and international scholarly collaboration.
• Bring together high-quality research on a focused theme.
• Advance knowledge and practice in ethnic and cultural studies and related disciplines.

Researchers interested in organizing a Special Issue should submit a proposal to the Editor-in-Chief. The proposal should include:

• The proposed Special Issue title.
• A rationale explaining the significance and timeliness of the topic.
• A description of the scope and objectives.
• A draft Call for Papers.
• A proposed publication timeline.
• The names, affiliations, ORCID iDs (where available), and brief biographies of the proposed Guest Editor(s), demonstrating their expertise in the subject area.

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board will evaluate each proposal based on its scholarly merit, originality, relevance to the journal, and the qualifications of the proposed Guest Editor(s).

Guest Editors are appointed by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board based on their recognized scholarly expertise and publication record in the proposed topic area.

Guest Editors are expected to:

• Promote the Call for Papers through appropriate academic networks.
• Encourage submissions from a broad and internationally diverse community of researchers.
• Recommend qualified and independent peer reviewers.
• Assist in overseeing the peer review process in accordance with JECS editorial policies.
• Maintain confidentiality throughout the editorial process.
• Declare any actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

The Editor-in-Chief retains full editorial responsibility and final decision-making authority for every manuscript submitted to a Special Issue. Guest Editors provide recommendations regarding editorial decisions; however, acceptance or rejection decisions are made solely by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated handling editor to ensure editorial independence and consistency with journal standards.

All manuscripts submitted to a Special Issue undergo the same double-anonymous peer review process as manuscripts submitted to regular issues.

Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with appropriate subject expertise. Editorial decisions are based solely on scholarly quality, originality, methodological rigor, significance, and relevance to the journal's scope.

Submission to a Special Issue does not guarantee publication.

Guest Editors may submit manuscripts to the Special Issue they are organizing. However, to ensure fairness and avoid conflicts of interest:

• Guest Editors shall have no involvement in the editorial handling, reviewer selection, peer review process, or editorial decision regarding their own manuscript.
• Such manuscripts will be assigned to an independent editor designated by the Editor-in-Chief.
• The Editor-in-Chief retains final responsibility for the editorial decision.
• Guest Editors must disclose any conflicts of interest in accordance with the journal's Conflict of Interest Policy.

Guest Editors must disclose any personal, professional, institutional, or financial relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their editorial responsibilities.

If a conflict of interest exists between a Guest Editor and a submitted manuscript (for example, institutional affiliation, recent collaboration, supervisory relationship, or personal relationship), the Guest Editor will not participate in any aspect of the editorial process for that manuscript.

Special Issues are subject to all JECS editorial and publication policies, including:

• Publication Ethics
• Peer Review Policy
• Authorship Policy
• AI Use Policy
• Research Data Policy
• Corrections and Retractions Policy
• Conflicts of Interest Policy

JECS follows the ethical principles and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and other internationally recognized standards.

Accepted articles may be published online as Online First following completion of peer review and production, before being assigned to the Special Issue. If necessary, accepted manuscripts may also be published in a regular issue to ensure timely dissemination of research.

The Editorial Board reserves the right to modify, postpone, combine, or cancel a proposed Special Issue if sufficient high-quality manuscripts are not received or if editorial or ethical standards are not met.

The views and opinions expressed in Special Issue articles are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Guest Editors, Editorial Board, Publisher, or the Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies.