Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
Acta Politica
ISSN 0001-6810 · eISSN 1741-1416 · Springer Nature · 4 issues per year
Acta Politica: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.87; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,190; median 334 days to acceptance (49 articles, last 24 months); 26 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Acta Politica is published by Springer Nature and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Electoral Systems and Political Participation, Populism, Right-Wing Movements and Social Policy and Reform Studies, together about 43.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Political Science with an Edge Acta Politica is one of the few truly international political science journals with a broad scope across the discipline. In the past we have published theoretical and empirical articles, comparative and single-country studies and even some methodological notes. In times of an ever-increasing specialisation in political science, we however strongly believe a broad-ranging political science journal is as important as ever for the international scientific community. As Editors, we have a strong preference for articles that will attract a wide audience within the broader field of political science, no matter what the precise topic of the article might be. Despite this broad scope Acta Politica is very selective about the quality of the articles that it publishes. Acta Politica has always been committed to publishing articles with an 'edge'; providing new insights or new approaches in political science. At the end of the review process, we always ask the question: "What did we learn from this article?" Our aim is to provide an exciting read, whether you are interested in political theory or quantitative research methods. Our goal is to select those articles that bring with them a substantive theoretical background, while demonstrating how these ideas can be used in empirical research. On the other hand, we welcome empirical articles introducing new ways to incorporate or to test theoretical discussions which are highly interesting to our readers. Acta Politica follows a double blind review policy, and our acceptance rate stands at about 35 per cent, ensuring that all the articles we publish meet high academic standards. These standards are, and will remain, our ultimate criteria of judgment for inclusion in the journal. We welcome articles on a broad range of topics, and using a wide array of methods. While in the past most authors publishing in Acta Politica tended to come from Europe, we now also attract more articles from the United States, Canada and the rest of the world. Our aim is to provide authors with substantive feedback within three months of receipt of manuscript. Acta Politica is committed to publishing relevant political science research, and we invite you to share that commitment, either by subscribing to the journal or recommending it to your library, or by considering Acta Politica when choosing a journal to publish your own research. Potential authors are invited to contact the Editors at acta.politica@fsw.leide
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Hilde van Meegdenburg LeidenPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Netherlands 12, Belgium 5, United Kingdom 2, Germany 1, Canada 1 (23 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences21.7%
- Populism, Right-Wing MovementsSocial Sciences11.9%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences10.3%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences8.8%
- European Union Policy and GovernanceSocial Sciences8.5%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting5.6%
- Gender Politics and RepresentationSocial Sciences3.6%
- Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSocial Sciences3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.87LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.6LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.11LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.5LetPub ·
- h-index
- 85OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 435OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.92OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 40.87%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 24LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 205,200Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 960 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 40 | 18 | 5 |
| 2025 | 26 | 18 | 25 |
| 2024 | 63 | 46 | 218 |
| 2023 | 38 | 29 | 235 |
| 2022 | 51 | 38 | 571 |
| 2021 | 41 | 23 | 576 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
334 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 255 days – 463 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 28 days (69 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 366 days
- Sample
- 49 articles with submission and acceptance dates (81 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Submission to first decision
- 35 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,190 / EUR 2,590 / GBP 2,290 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–200 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 3
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- Harvard
Article types accepted2
- articlesArticles should not normally exceed 8,000 words in length.Length not stated
- research notesResearch notes should not normally exceed 5,000 words in length.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Self-archiving
- Publication ethics
COPE member Model summary
This journal, via its publisher Palgrave Macmillan, is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright and Permissions
Using third-party material in your articleAuthors are responsible for ensuring that any third-party material (e.g. figures, tables, photos, illustrations, trade literature, or data) is not used without permission. If such material is copyrighted, permission must be obtained and submitted with the final manuscript. The Editor and Publisher must be informed of any restricted-use content at submissio…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open Access & Self Archiving
Green OA self-archiving after 12-month embargo Model summary
Self-archiving (green open access)Where articles are published via the subscription route, authors are permitted to self-archive the accepted manuscript (the version post-peer review, but prior to copy-editing and typesetting) on their own personal website and/or in their funder or institutional repositories, for public release after an embargo period of 12 months after first publication.Learn mor…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review New Peer Review System launched
We are pleased to announce that Acta Politica has a new submission system and is now using SNAPP. New submissionsIf you are submitting for the first time, please ensure you submit to the new submission system. Submissions currently being processed in the old submission systemFor those submissions that are currently under review / awaiting decisions in the old system, we will continue with your pap…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Open Access & Self Archiving
Self-archiving (green open access)Where articles are published via the subscription route, authors are permitted to self-archive the accepted manuscript (the version post-peer review, but prior to copy-editing and typesetting) on their own personal website and/or in their funder or institutional repositories, for public release after an embargo period of 12 months after first publication.Learn mor…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Frequency
- 4 issues per year
- ISSN
- 0001-6810
- Electronic ISSN
- 1741-1416
- Society / sponsor
- Dutch Political Science Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 61, Issue 3 (July 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Acta Politica
What CAS zone is Acta Politica in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Acta Politica is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Political Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Acta Politica?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.87; CiteScore 4.6, h-index 85.
How long does peer review take at Acta Politica?
Based on the dates recorded on 49 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 334 days (interquartile range 255–463 days). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Acta Politica?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–200 words; Keywords: ≥ 3; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: Harvard. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Acta Politica based?
Of the 23 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Netherlands (12), Belgium (5) and United Kingdom (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Acta Politica?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Acta Politica is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Acta Politica open access, and what is the APC?
Acta Politica is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,190.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .