Posted at Change.org, it says:

In light of:

• • the recent decision taken by John Wiley and Sons to terminate Prof. Robert Goodin’s editorship of the Journal of Political Philosophy at the end of 2023,
  • the consequent resignations of the vast majority of the journal’s editorial board,
  • and the inadequate explanation offered by Wiley as to their decision,

we the undersigned resolve, from the point at which Prof. Goodin is no longer the editor of the journal, to:

• • decline any invitation to join the editorial board of the journal, 
  • refuse any request to review papers submitted for publication in the journal, and
  • refrain from submitting any papers for publication in the journal

unless and until:

• • the decision to terminate Prof. Goodin’s editorship is rescinded,
  • full editorial independence of the editors over the journal’s publications is restored, and
  • all questions concerning the future relationship between Wiley and the journal are resolved to the satisfaction of the editorial board as recently constituted.

Scholars who work on topics in or adjacent to political philosophy and theory, social philosophy, moral philosophy, philosophy of law, and related areas are invited to sign the statement. To do so, go here. (Please include your institutional affiliation, if applicable, in lieu of your location, when signing.)

Professor May writes:

I have created a petition on change.org concerning the current crisis at the Journal of Political Philosophy. I urge all scholars who work on topics in or adjacent to political philosophy and theory, social philosophy, moral philosophy, philosophy of law, and related areas to sign the statement. 

As discussed in Thursday’s post, Wiley has removed Bob Goodin as the editor of JPP as of the end of 2023. Their explanation for this step is that there has been a “complete breakdown of professional communication” between Goodin and them. This is an entirely inadequate explanation. If a breakdown in communication were the problem, there is no reason why Wiley could not have brought the matter to the attention of the editorial board instead of acting in a unilateral and heavy-handed manner. In consequence, the vast majority of the editorial board have now submitted their resignations.

Wiley’s explanation is all the more dubious insofar as they have pressured journal editors to massively increase the number of papers they accept for publication. This pressure threatens to undermine the integrity of the peer-reviewed journal system and turn excellent venues for quality research into nothing more than crumbling paper mills. To be sure, there is an interesting question whether the top journals in political philosophy (and other areas) should accept more articles. Perhaps their current acceptance rates are overly restrictive. But this is an academic question that can only be answered by academic philosophers on academic grounds. It cannot be answered by publishing houses looking to maximise the profits they can extract from the labour we freely provide. Editorial independence over our journals is essential—without that independence, a journal publication will mean precious little.

The petition is in essence a call to strike action: a refusal to be associated with, submit to, or review for the Journal of Political Philosophy unless Wiley rescinds its decision, restores editorial control over the journal, and reaches an agreement with the editorial board, as recently constituted, as to the future relationship between Wiley and the journal. 

The stakes here are a great deal higher than whether a particular person continues in a particular role—the petition has not been created at Prof. Goodin’s behest or on his behalf. Rather, the stakes concern the very existence of the Journal of Political Philosophy and, by extension, all other philosophy journals published by Wiley. There are many difficult financial, logistical, and technical questions about the future of academic publishing that need to be answered in creative, even radical, ways. The status quo may be unsustainable. But the future of academic publishing cannot lie in surrendering editorial control over our journals to the publishing houses. Wiley may own the Journal of Political Philosophy, but it does not belong to them.

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UPDATE (4/30/23): Below is a periodically updated list of signatories.

990 signatories as of roughly 9:00AM (Eastern) on May 8th, 2023:

To add your name to this list, please visit the resolution page at change.org and include your institutional affiliation (if applicable) in lieu of your location.