The Journal für Entwicklungspolitik (JEP) is one of the leading academic journals for critical development research. JEP aims to provide a forum for broad discussion and reflection on North-South relations, global social inequalities and power relations. Theoretical and empirical works address their social, political, economic, ecological and historical dimensions. These socially relevant findings of critical development research are processed, disseminated and made accessible in an interdisciplinary manner. In addition to research articles, which are reviewed in a double-blind peer review process, JEP also offers space for essays, interviews and reviews. The texts are published in English or German.
The Journal for Development Policy (JEP) has been published since 1985 by the Mattersburg Circle – an interdisciplinary network of academics, university lecturers and practitioners who deal with issues of critical development research and development policy. Since 1981, the Mattersburg Circle has provided a platform for exchange for research, teaching and development policy practice in Austria.
The Mattersburg Circle deals with questions of center and (multiple) peripheries, especially in the Global South. Global and historical connections and inequalities are made visible and dealt with in an interdisciplinary manner. Current social, political and economic crises and transformation processes are analyzed against the background of critical development research. On this basis, positive utopias for a fairer and more ecologically and socially sustainable society are developed.
All information on the Mattersburg Circle can be found on its own website here.
The Journal for Development Policy (JEP) was founded in 1985 to make these analyses accessible. Three distinctive phases can be distinguished:
1995-1996: “White Phase”, published partly by Südwind-Verlag in Vienna, mostly self-published
1997-2002: “Blue Phase”, published by Brandes&Apsel in Frankfurt and Südwind in Vienna
since 2003: “Bordeaux-Phase”, published by Mandelbaum Vienna, self-published from 2014.
Another forum was the book series “Historical Social Studies”, founded in 1992 and published only in German, in which the Mattersburg Circle participated as co-editor and co-producer until the series was discontinued in 2016. This series was aimed not only at students, but also specifically at teachers of history and social studies, geography and political education.
Most recently, the book series “GEP – History – Development – Politics”, also only in German, which has been published since 2003, also serves these objectives. From the 2011 volume onwards, the GEP volumes are specially designed for university teaching, with info boxes and learning questions to support exam preparation.
Funding:
The JEP – Journal of Development Policy is funded by the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) through International Partnerships Austria.
