Spontaneous Order (SO) is the digital repository of essays of India’s leading liberal think tank Centre for Civil Society. SO aims to “explore the power of ideas” through a liberal lens and strives to provide a liberal platform for scholars, academicians, researchers.
Under the broader ambit of re-examining classical liberalism in an Indian context, we would encourage submissions on the following themes:
- Reforms in education, livelihood, good governance in India
- Market solutions to India’s key economic challenges.
- Liberalism in India
We accept essay submissions to be featured on the platform on a rolling basis and welcome contributions in areas of governance, public policy, history of Indian liberal thought, political economy, etc.
Guidelines for Authors
In order to ensure uniformity and to provide a holistic experience to our readers, we expect the authors to adhere to the following guidelines:
Authors: We accept co-authored submissions, written by not more than two authors. If you are submitting a co-authored piece, please indicate this in your initial email and confirm that you have the co-author’s permission to submit the piece for publication.
Content: The piece should aim to offer readers either a fresh perspective or genuinely informative content that advances the discussion. Sentences should be concise, and the argument must progress clearly, supported by empirical evidence wherever necessary. Avoid the use of jargon or legalistic language. Please ensure that the statement “Views expressed are personal” is included in your submission.
Originality: All submissions will be subjected to a plagiarism check; hence we expect authors to submit original pieces and give credit where it is due. If the essay has been published elsewhere, please convey this at the time of submission.
References: Since this is an online blog, we would encourage the author(s) to cite their sources in the form of hyperlinks wherever necessary and not at the end of the piece through a bibliography. Footnotes are preferred over endnotes.
Example: “On November 18, the finance ministry released an order saying…..” here, the words “released an order” should be hyperlinked to the news source/order itself. Remember, you are writing a blog piece, not an academic paper.
Format: The essay should be between 700-850 words and should follow English (UK). Please email the article in a word document, along with:
- a 50-60 word summary
- a professional photograph and a 50-60 word bio of the author(s)
- A picture accompanying body text, if applicable
Please note: The essay will be subjected to a rigorous review process. All decisions will be contingent on the compatibility of the content with the idea of the blog. In case of any misalignment, the review team reserves the right to reject the article.
As a liberal platform, SO holds in high regard the free exchange of ideas. Therefore, an author wishing to critique a particular strand of liberal thought is invited to do so, as long as said critique is free from vitriol and/ or unsubstantiated claims.
You can send in your submissions to eacademy@ccs.in. We request at least a week to review your submission. As a policy, we do not accept paid contributions; selections are made purely on merit and their fit with our ideas.
