From the Editors

Every two years, the editors of the African Studies Review publish our thanks to the truly unsung heroes who critique and inspire our authors, and who help make this journal the best it can be: those scholars who act as peer reviewers of manuscripts. We ask the peer reviewers to play a key role in evaluating the significance, originality, and accessibility of the many manuscripts submitted to us each year. As editors with our own specific knowledge of Africa and our own disciplinary backgrounds, we rely on the expertise of our reviewers to supplement our own evaluations.

The database of nearly 2600 reviewers has grown from its roots in the membership list of the African Studies Association. Over the years, we have added hundreds of names on the recommendation of those on the list, who tell us in effect, “I cannot review this manuscript right now, but you should contact so-and-so.” While the African Studies Review is published by the African Studies Association, we do not limit our database of reviewers to ASA members.

When we send a manuscript out for review, we first scan our database of reviewers to match the manuscript with several reviewers who have relevant expertise. (The reviewing process is double-blind throughout.) Our reviewers then, with a passion for scholarship and a letter from us as their only thanks, consistently write extraordinarily helpful comments—helpful to us as we make our decisions about publication, and helpful to authors as they go into the revision process. All of the reviews for each manuscript are sent to the manuscript’s author(s), whether the manuscript is ultimately accepted for publication or not. In this way, authors, editors, and reviewers together enhance the scholarship of African studies.

We are pleased to acknowledge publicly our peer reviewers’ good work by listing below the names of the individuals who reviewed manuscripts over the two years ending on September 30, 2012. Thanks to you all for making this journal possible!