Nordic Journal of African Studies (NJAS) moves to the Open Library of Humanities 

We are thrilled to welcome another diamond open access journal to the Open Library of Humanities: Nordic Journal of African Studies (NJAS). NJAS is an interdisciplinary African Studies journal that publishes original empirical and theoretical research in the social sciences, cultural and historical studies, language studies, and literary studies. The journal publishes in English, French, and Swahili. NJAS values and promotes Africa-based scholarship and convivial research practices. Within its linguistics submissions, for example, 75% of published articles have at least one author based in Africa, while 67% are led by authors affiliated with African universities.  As the leading African Studies journal in the Nordic countries, it has long played an important role in building and maintaining scholarly ties between the Nordic region, Europe, America, and Africa.  

NJAS was founded in 1992 by Prof. Arvi Hurskainen of the University of Helsinki. Since 2004, the journal has been published exclusively online, with four issues appearing each year.  NJAS is the official journal of the Nordic Africa Research Network, and has also been affiliated with the Forum for Africa Studies at Uppsala University. It was initially funded by the Nordic Committee for the Publication of Periodicals in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NOP-HS) and has long operated under a diamond open access model. However, following the discontinuation of this funding, the future of the journal was placed at risk and NJAS faced the possibility of ceasing publication. 

The Open Library of Humanities is proud to provide the long-term funding and support needed to ensure the continued sustainability of NJAS as a diamond open access journal. This support helps preserve a long-standing venue for African Studies scholarship and is made possible by the universities that collectively support the OLH. 

OLH’s Executive Director, Professor Caroline Edwards, said of the move: “The OLH is well known for ‘flipping’ journals away from commercial publishing models into community-governed diamond open access. However, we also work hard to secure sustainable funding for journals like the Nordic Journal of African Studies that are at risk. Without OLH’s intervention, such journals would cease existing due to the paucity of funds available for their ongoing publication costs. We’re proud to be able to support this important title, which brings African-related research to a global readership.”  

Dr Thera Crane and Dr Jonna Katto, NJAS Editors-in-Chief from 2022–2026, commented: “During our four-year tenure as co-Editors-in-Chief of NJAS, we operated under continual economic uncertainty, fearing that our term would mark the journal’s end. We are thrilled that NJAS now has a secure future as part of OLH, so that the current editors can focus on the journal’s primary mission: providing a high-quality and equitable venue for researchers from Africa, Europe, and around the world to publish their cutting-edge Africa-related research.” 

Dr Rasmus Bernander and Dr Carmeliza Rosario, newly appointed NJAS Editors-in-Chief from 2026, commented: “As the new Editors-in-Chief, we are excited to be part of the growing transition towards a more sustainable and equitable model of academic publishing. For a journal committed to strengthening scholarly dialogue between Africa and the Global North, this move feels like a perfect fit helping to ensure accessibility and inclusivity for both authors and readers, not least those based in Africa.”  

About OLH: The Open Library of Humanities is an award-winning, academic-led publisher of 38 diamond open access journals based at Birkbeck, University of London. With initial funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and subsequent support from Arcadia, a charitable fund, the platform covers its costs by payments from an international library consortium rather than any author fee. This funding mechanism enables equitable open access in the humanities disciplines, with charges neither to readers nor authors. 

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