io-topic-selection

Topic Selection & Fit (io-topic-selection)

IO is the leading journal of international relations. The bar is not "interesting" or "new to my country case" — it is a generalizable theory of international politics, tested or developed rigorously, where the international (or cross-border) phenomenon is a major cause or effect. Use this skill to pressure-test IR fit before you invest.

When to trigger

• Choosing among possible projects or framings for an IO submission
• A reviewer/colleague said the paper "isn't really IR" or "is a domestic-politics paper"
• Deciding between a Research Article, a Research Note, and an Essay
• Worried the paper is a measurement/data exercise without an IR theory

The IO fit test

A strong IO paper usually clears all four:

1. International level is load-bearing. An international or cross-border phenomenon — institutions, war, trade, alliances, treaties, IGOs, transnational actors — is a major cause or effect, not a setting. Strip the international element and the paper should collapse.
2. Generalizable theory. IO publishes "articles that propose generalizable theories." The claim must travel beyond the single case, dyad, or institution studied. A descriptive account of one IGO is not enough.
3. Speaks to an IR debate. It engages a live argument in IR — rationalist vs. constructivist, institutionalist, IPE, security — not just a subfield-internal gap (see io-literature-positioning).
4. Credible on its own methodological terms. Quantitative, formal/game-theoretic, or qualitative — each is welcome, but each must be rigorous and (for empirics/formal proofs) verifiable later by IO staff (see io-research-design, io-transparency-and-data-policy).

IR research-area framing (where does your contribution land?)

Research area	Reach IO by…
International institutions / law	a general logic of design, delegation, compliance, or legitimacy — not one IGO's history
Security / conflict	a portable mechanism of escalation, deterrence, bargaining, or war termination
International political economy	a general claim about trade, finance, aid, or globalization politics
Foreign policy / diplomacy	tie individual/state behavior to international structure and strategic interaction
IR theory	show what the framework lets the field explain or see that it could not before

Article-type choice

• Research Article — full study, generalizable IR theory + evidence, ≤ 14,000 words.
• Research Note — one crisp IR contribution (a decisive test, a focused reappraisal, a measurement or theoretical advance), ≤ 8,000 words. Do not pad it into an Article.
• Essay — a conceptual, agenda-setting, or debate piece, ≤ 10,000 words (verify the current Essay remit on the live page — 待核实).

Fit-verdict decision table (run before you invest)

If the honest answer is…	Verdict	Action
strip the international element and the paper still stands	off-fit	re-center or send elsewhere
the claim holds only for one IGO/case	needs reframing	generalize the logic (io-theory-building)
it documents but does not explain a cross-border pattern	descriptive	attach a portable mechanism
it explains a general phenomenon of world politics, testable	strong fit	go to io-literature-positioning

Worked fit vignette (illustrative)

A scholar has rich panel data on one regional trade bloc and wants to write its institutional history. The bloc is international, so the level is load-bearing — but "the history of bloc X" travels nowhere, so the generalizable-theory test fails. The reframe: ask a portable question the case can answer, e.g., when does delegating dispute settlement to a supranational body raise compliance versus provoke backlash? Now the bloc is a case of a general design problem in international institutions; the claim travels to other bodies and enters a live IPE/institutions debate. When unsure a framing clears the bar, write the one-sentence portable claim first; if you cannot, it is not yet an IO project.

Anti-patterns

• A domestic-politics paper with international data bolted on (the international phenomenon is incidental)
• "First study of country/IGO X" as the whole contribution (descriptive, not generalizable)
• A measurement or data exercise with no IR theory or payoff
• Choosing Article length out of habit when a Research Note would land harder
• Forcing a single paradigm's vocabulary when the contribution is broader
• Picking a case for its data richness when it is not a case of any general IR phenomenon

Output format

【Question】one sentence (international phenomenon named)
【International level】why it is a major cause/effect (not backdrop)
【Generalizable theory】the portable claim about international politics
【IR debate】which live IR conversation it speaks to
【Article type】Research Article / Research Note / Essay
【Fit verdict】strong / needs reframing / off-fit (why)
【Next】io-literature-positioning

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — IR data sources by research area
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — IO scope and article types