Discourse: Research on Ideology, Hate, and Tolerance

An Annual Academic Journal 

Published by the Antisemitism Research Initiative (ARI) 

Program on Extremism, The George Washington University

Editors

Dr. Omar Mohammed

Hilary Miller

Professor Kamal Abdel-Malek

About the Journal

Discourse: Research on Ideology, Hate, and Tolerance is an annual, open-access academic journal dedicated to the systematic study of how ideologies of hatred and practices of tolerance are articulated, transmitted, contested, and institutionalized through discourse across global contexts.

Founded and published by the Antisemitism Research Initiative (ARI) at the Program on Extremism at The George Washington University, Discourse provides a rigorous scholarly platform for interdisciplinary research on the language, narratives, and communicative practices that shape political conflict, social exclusion, and coexistence in contemporary and historical societies.

While the journal gives sustained attention to antisemitism as a paradigmatic and historically consequential form of hatred, it deliberately situates antisemitism within a broader comparative and analytical framework. This framework encompasses other forms of ideological hostility—including racism, religious intolerance, ethnonationalism, conspiracy thinking, and extremist discourse—as well as the discursive conditions under which tolerance, pluralism, and civic restraint are articulated and defended.

Rather than treating hate and tolerance as purely normative categories, the journal approaches them as objects of empirical and theoretical inquiry. It examines how they are constructed in texts, legitimized by institutions, circulated through media, and reshaped by political, religious, and technological change.

Call for Papers 2026 Inaugural Issue

Examining Ideology, Hate, and Tolerance Through Discourse

The inaugural issue will feature ten original research articles that analyze how ideology, hate, and tolerance are constructed, articulated, normalized, and contested through discourse.

Contemporary debates regarding antisemitism, hate speech, and tolerance increasingly influence institutional decision-making across universities, governments, courts, media organizations, and digital platforms. However, policy responses frequently depend on unstable or contested definitions, limited contextual analysis, and reactive enforcement mechanisms.

This inaugural issue advances a central proposition: Effective policy development requires a precise understanding of how ideology, hate, and tolerance function through language.

Hate should not be understood solely as a private attitude or a legal category. Rather, it constitutes a discursive practice that constructs boundaries of belonging, legitimizes exclusion, reframes political grievances, and shapes institutional responses. Similarly, 'tolerance' is not a neutral remedy but a contested concept embedded within regulatory, cultural, and political frameworks.

Instead of relying on fixed definitions, the journal encourages contributors to examine how concepts such as hate, tolerance, critique, and legitimacy are produced and contested within specific discursive contexts.

This issue is structured around four interconnected premises.

1. Hate operates as a discursive mechanism within broader ideological projects.
   Discourse constructs perceptions of threat, victimhood, and moral hierarchy through framing, metaphor, euphemism, narrative inversion, and presupposition.
2. Institutional processes produce the boundaries between political critique, anti-Zionism, and antisemitic rhetoric.
   Definitions of antisemitism and hate speech function as regulatory instruments within universities, legal systems, and policy environments.
3. Context significantly shapes the interpretation and impact of discourse.
   The United States and the Middle East represent distinct discursive environments shaped by different legal regimes, political structures, institutional authorities, and media infrastructures.
4. Processes of circulation and amplification fundamentally reshape discourse.
   Traditional and digital media, algorithms, diaspora networks, and institutional actors influence both the content of discourse and what becomes visible, normalized, and actionable.

This issue invites scholarship that informs policy and governance and upholds conceptual rigor and methodological transparency.

Priority Areas of Engagement
Antisemitism as Discourse

• Antisemitism in political, religious, academic, and media language
• Discursive boundaries between political critique, anti-Zionism, and antisemitic rhetoric
• Euphemism, denial, normalization, and ideological coding
• Institutional and policy language addressing antisemitism

The United States and the Middle East

The inaugural issue places particular emphasis on antisemitism in the United States and the Middle East, examining both as distinct discursive environments and as interconnected arenas shaped by transnational communication.

Topics may include:

• Campus, legal, policy, and media discourse in the United States
• Antisemitism in state, religious, and educational discourse in the Middle East and the United States contexts
• Translation, adaptation, and circulation of antisemitic tropes
• Counter-discourses, reformist voices, and emerging narratives of coexistence

Media, Technology, and Circulation

• Traditional and digital media as vectors of ideological language
• Social media platforms, algorithms, and discursive amplification
• Diaspora and transnational communication networks
• Institutional actors as producers and regulators of discourse

Methodological and Ethical Reflections

• Defining and operationalizing hate and tolerance
• Limits of discourse-analytic models
• Research in polarized, securitized, or authoritarian settings
• Ethical risks and responsibilities in studying sensitive discourse

Submission requirements

Manuscripts must not be published or under review elsewhere. The inaugural issue will feature eighteen contributions selected for analytical depth, thematic coherence, and disciplinary balance. The contributions are organized as follows:

Research Articles (10)

• Length: 2,000–3,000 words (including notes and references)

Research articles are the primary scholarly content of the inaugural issue. Submissions must present original research and offer a clear analytical contribution to the study of ideology, hate, and tolerance through discourse.

Articles may be empirical, theoretical, methodological, or comparative, but must treat discourse as the central object of analysis, not as background. Preference will be given to manuscripts that demonstrate conceptual clarity, methodological transparency, and strong engagement with relevant scholarship.

Commentaries (3)

• Length: 1000–1500 words (including notes and references)

Commentaries are analytical essays that address the inaugural theme by advancing conceptual, methodological, or interpretive perspectives. They aim to foster intellectual dialogue rather than present full-scale empirical research.

Commentaries should be grounded in scholarship and evidence, avoid polemical or advocacy-driven arguments, and offer reflections that situate, challenge, or extend the research articles as a whole.

Book Reviews (4)

• Length: 800–1000 words

Book reviews offer critical assessments of recent scholarly works relevant to the journal’s scope, including studies on antisemitism, ideology, discourse, extremism, media, or tolerance.

Reviews should go beyond summary to evaluate the book’s arguments, methodology, and contribution to the field, and, when appropriate, place the work within broader academic debates. Books may be proposed by contributors or selected with the editorial team.

Timeline

• Abstract Submission Deadline March 30, 2026
• Notification of Abstract Decisions April 30, 2026
• Full Manuscript Submission Deadline July 30, 2026
• Revisions & Editing August–September
• Publication November 2026

Contributor Honoraria (Inaugural Issue)

Contributions are compensated through fixed honoraria, recognizing scholarly labor while preserving editorial independence. Payment is not conditional on viewpoint and is made only after acceptance and publication.

1. Research Articles
   ●    Number: 10
   ●    Honorarium: USD 750 per article
   ●    Basis: Original scholarly research forming the core content of the issue
2. Commentaries
   ●    Number: 3
   ●    Honorarium: USD 500 per commentary
   ●    Basis: Analytical or methodological essays engaging the issue’s themes
3. Book Reviews
   ●    Number: 4
   ●    Honorarium: USD 250 per review
   ●    Basis: Critical reviews of recent scholarly books relevant to the journal’s scope

See document below for submission guidelines

PDF of the Call for Papers