Rethinking the border security force

This opinion piece engages critically with the status of the peer-reviewed article and the role of the peer reviewer as a central feature of established academic practice. It situates the peer-review process in the development of academic practice, both generally and in the specific context of South Asian Studies, and asks how it may be developed to reflect the concerns and rapidly changing parameters of contemporary academics. The piece was written as a result of involvement in a one-day round-table meeting organized by the editor of South Asian History and Culture on the theme of ‘Journals as actors in the academic world. Existing and changing roles’. The author is the editor of the journal Contemporary South Asia (CSA), but the views expressed here are the personal opinions of the author. They do not reflect the editorial position of CSA.