Call for Special Issues

The Journal of Financial Crime invites proposals for special issues that advance criminological analyses of the causes, consequences, prevention and control of financial crime.

Financial crime is often treated by researchers as a technical or legal problem, attributed to failures in regulation or enforcement. While legal and technical analyses are essential, they can obscure the broader social relations that generate, normalise and sustain financial wrongdoing.

We therefore encourage proposals that explore financial crime as a product of social organisation and examine how it is enabled by structures of power, embedded in economic practices and political-economic histories, and mediated by relationships among state actors, intermediaries and market participants.

We emphasise that contributions to the special issue should offer analytically rigorous, causal explanations. We welcome proposals from scholars worldwide and strongly encourage comparative and internationally oriented work.

Indicative Themes

Indicative themes for special issues include, but are not limited to:

The geopolitical roots and consequences of financial crime
Financial crime in contexts of war, conflict and socio-economic crisis
Gender, race and inequality in financial crime and its enforcement
The social organisation of regulation and enforcement
Professional intermediaries and the facilitation of financial crime
Elite networks, patronage systems, corruption and state capture
Sanctions, anti-corruption policies and other tools of economic statecraft
Organisational cultures and decision making in financial wrongdoing
The relationship between legal and illegal financial practices
The role of expertise (legal, technical, academic) in enabling or constraining financial crime
Financial crime in emerging and transitional markets
Tax havens, secrecy jurisdictions and offshore financial systems.

Proposal Submission Guidelines

The proposals should be submitted to the editorial team of the Journal of Financial Crime via email at [email protected] with the subject line “Special Issue Proposal.” Proposals are due by 15 July 2026. Authors of accepted proposals will be notified by 1 August 2026 and full manuscripts for the special issue will be due for review by 1 February 2027.

Submissions should include: (1) a proposed title and a 1–2 page overview of the theme of the special issue; (2) a statement outlining the anticipated theoretical contribution; (3) a description of the methodological approaches represented across the proposed contributions; (4) a provisional table of contents with short descriptions (50–150 words) of each paper; and (5) brief biographies of the proposed guest editor(s). Proposals will be evaluated based on their originality, theoretical coherence, methodological rigour and alignment with the aims and scope of the journal.

If you would like to discuss the special issue and your potential contribution, please get in touch with the Associate Editor, Dr. Marina Zaloznaya at [email protected].