The global permutations of the Western publication regime

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of the ‘publication regime’ into the current discourse on academia. This allows for a much deeper understanding of how publishing conglomerates and appointment and promotion procedures in Western universities are increasingly interlocked. It then turns to the global permutations of that regime as it is currently disseminated to other parts of the world. Using empirical examples drawn primarily from the field of tourism studies, we examine the problems engendered by the introduction of the regime’s appointment and promotion procedures of early career academic staff in universities in the emerging world regions. We specify the auxiliary mechanisms intended to ameliorate these problems, and draw attention to the neocolonial implications of the disciplining process which these mechanisms are introducing into the academic life of the universities in the emerging regions. We argue that, as the Western publication regime is becoming increasingly globalized, local intellectual voices tend to be silenced by the regime’s growing hegemony, and, call for the integration of non-Western perspectives into the framework of the publication regime

Tourism and Erik Cohen in Thailand: Comparisons, Impacts, Mobilities and Encounters

“…In much of his work, his approach adopted appropriate concepts to address the topic or issue under investigation; there was no overarching theory that was pursued single-mindedly. The most important biographical appreciation of Cohen's work has been provided by Scott Cohen (2013) who has also co-authored several theoretically significant publications with Erik Cohen since 2012 (see, for example, Cohen and Cohen 2012a, 2012b, 2015b, 2015cand Cohen, Cohen and King 2016). Scott Cohen indicates that up until his 2013 publication there was "only piecemeal biographical information available about him [Erik Cohen] in the public domain" (Cohen 2013: 104), though there had been some informative autobiographical exposures in Erik Cohen's own work (see, for example, 2001bCohen's own work (see, for example, , 2007aCohen's own work (see, for example, : 50-59, 2012a, and useful material in Nelson Graburn's brief appreciation (2004: 94-95).…”

Some Thoughts on Social Science Research: 50 Years of Engagement in Southeast Asia

“…It is now a highly competitive world in academic publishing, and almost every month another journal in the humanities and social sciences appears on the Internet. The global publication regime, dominated by a relatively small number of Western-based multinational corporate publishers, which sets the rules, exerts control over the process of getting published, and primarily publishes in English, also places many academic authors in a subordinate and dependent position (Cohen, Cohen and King, 2018). A further worrying development is the rapidly increasing number of predatory journals, very many with the inclusion of the terms 'International' or 'Global' in their titles, which, among other practices, charge fees for the publication of articles and operate a relatively light-touch reviewing system (Beall, 2019).…”