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27 Pol. Theory 3 (1999)

handle is hein.journals/ptxa27 and id is 1 raw text is: EDITORIAL I have been editor of Political Theory since the February issue, 1990. It has been a rewarding experience-I have learned much, met new faces, watched young scholars mature and make a mark, learned how to edit and, more important, when not to edit, how to say no sooner rather than later. It is time to turn the journal over to new hands. Accordingly, this was the main subject of discussion at the annual execu- tive committee meeting during the American Political Science Association convention in September. Picking a new editor is not an easy task. Among the issues discussed were the following: Political Theory styles itself, not without reason, as a or the central jour- nal in our field(s). It must therefore be open to all. The discipline is mul- tiply divided: we find historians of ideas, Cambridge historians, mod- ernists in continuation of some version of the Enlightenment project, post-modernists, analytical political theorists, M(m)arxists, liberals of various stripes, Berkeley metaphysicians, Straussians of various persua- sions and generations, applied political theorists-and I am sure I have missed some important ones. Additionally, these categories are cross- cut by whatever remains of the Left/Center/Right spectrum and the rich varieties of feminist and gender theory. These divisions are exciting and provocative. They can, however, become divisive and the source of ran- cor. More skins than one might wish can be thin, and often at times that are unexpected. There is a good deal of actual editing of manuscripts: sometimes it comes from the language difficulties in submissions from overseas; sometimes people just write poorly. The editor needs to have a reasona- bly clear prose style and the ability to translate interesting thoughts into English-and to know when to make and when to give up the attempt. The editor needs to be well established in the discipline-enough so that the occasional threats and entreaties have little impact. One also needs to be able to remember that, as they say in The Godfather, this is just busi- ness, not personal, and let nastinesses slide off one's back. The editor needs to be at a time in his or her life such that he or she can de- vote the time to the journal. POLITICAL THEORY, vol. 27 No. 1, February 1999 3-5 0 1999 Sage Publications, Inc. 3

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