In Conversation: Dr Dafydd Townley

Name: Dafydd Townley

Occupation/Institution: Teaching Fellow in International Security as part of the University of Portsmouth’s Military Education Team at RAF College Cranwell.

Bio: I joined the University of Portsmouth's Military Education Team in August 2021 after teaching American political history for six years at the University of Reading and St Mary's University Twickenham. I was awarded my PhD in history by the University of Reading in May 2015.

My thesis was the basis of my debut monograph, The Year of Intelligence in the United States, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021. I was elected Chair of the American Politics Group in 2025, the UK's largest group associated with the teaching and research of American politics. I have been part of the group's executive committee since 2016.

Since 2025, I have been one of the Co Lead Editors of Political Studies Review, one of the Political Studies Association's flagship journals, along with other colleagues at the University of Portsmouth.

1. What is your current role in publishing? And how did you get to your role?

I am one of the 4 Co Lead Editors of the Political Studies Review (PSR). I am responsible for book reviews and US-focused research articles. A team that consisted of me and 3 other University of Portsmouth staff applied to be the editorial team last year. We were shortlisted and after an interview were appointed for a 3-year term. As a political historian I offer another strand to the team’s expertise which includes political theory, political communications and international relations. We’ve been in place in January and we’re now into the rhythm of editing and publishing. Thankfully, we’ve had some outstanding support from Sage and the Political Studies Association during our first six months which made the challenge of taking over from the exceptional  Brunel team not as difficult as it could have been.

2. Can you tell us about your publishing journey? What is your experience with writing your first article and how can you relate to those who are submitting for publication?

My first article came during my doctoral studies and was drawn from one of the chapters. It was not the first article that I had written but it was the first that was published. The first that I had written was rejected by two different journals and the reviews were not done in a timely matter not were they constructive or helpful to an ECR. That is very much in my mind an editor.

3. What are the benefits and challenges of getting into an editing role?

The benefits are that you can really shape the academic discussions that are taking place. We are very much champions of diversity at PSR, diversity in location, stage of career, as well as gender and race. We want to ensure that everyone gets a voice in the journal, after all, the most cutting-edge research is being conducted by doctoral students and ECRS who are trying to find a place amongst the current literature. The biggest challenge that we find as editors is getting scholars agree to review articles. This is the greatest cause of the delays to publications and can even lead to rejection of articles. So, my request as an editor to anyone reading this is if you’re asked to be a reviewer, once you’ve established yourself in academia, do remember that someone did the same for you once upon a time. And do keep your comments constructive – rather than telling authors where they’ve gone wrong, advise them how to correct it. Most critical reviewers suggest the article that they would write rather than how to make the one that is presented to them publishable. And don’t forget – disagreeing with someone’s standpoint is not the same as saying the article is not publishable.

4. Any tips for PGRs and ECRs who want to publish?

It varies from journal to journal but I would ensure that, firstly, you are aiming your article at the right publication. Look at the articles that you’ve cited in your literature review for possible destinations. Consider collaborating with co-presenters at a conference either in a co-authored article or a special edition of a journal. Also, do not be afraid of reaching out to editors to see whether their journal is the right home for your proposed article. I’m not saying send them the article to read but perhaps an abstract of what the article is arguing and how it adds to the literature. I will say that every author needs to be prepared for rejections. The best rejections include recommendations for other journals to target and how to get that article published. Celebrate your success – advertising your publications on social media will get you more citations, widen your network, and enhance your academic profile. Finally, don’t compare what you are doing with other academics. Every publication path is unique and not everyone has the same amount of time to write.

5. Any publication you currently have that you want to share to the public? What is it about and where can we access it?

We are currently advertising the shortlist of our best articles from PSR in 2024. All of these will be available through Open Access for a limited time. You can see more details on PSR’s LinkedIn page. I can honestly say they are all excellent articles worthy of a read, and illustrate the diverse nature of the journal.

While researching the literature review for my article on US cyber diplomacy, one article that stood out was André Barrinha’s ‘Cyber-diplomacy: The Emergence of a Transient Field’ in the Hague Journal of Diplomacy from last year and can be found here. For someone like me, this is a really good discussion about the developing relationship between cyberspace and diplomacy. I agree a lot with what he says, especially the part about it not being researched or written about enough by academics.