Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
African Security
ISSN 1939-2206 · eISSN 1939-2214 · Taylor & Francis
African Security: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.1 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,250; review about 105 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 18% (journal website); 30 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
African Security is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Global Peace and Security Dynamics, Peacebuilding and International Security and International Development and Aid, together about 43.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
African Security explores fresh approaches to understanding Africa’s conflicts and security concerns. Its investigation of competing analytical approaches to security complements discussions of current security issues in Africa. The journal strives to investigate the myriad issues relating to conflict and security within and between African nations, not only from the more traditional approaches to security studies but also from more novel and innovative perspectives. In order to truly understand conflict in Africa, existing paradigms in national and international security must be challenged. African security cannot be understood by applying only traditional theories and approaches to the study of international security, and to this end African Security seeks to push the envelope of traditional security studies while remaining firmly grounded in the extant security issues facing Africa. While African Security is based in the disciplines of political science, international relations, and international security, it welcomes theoretical challenges to how we understand conflict and security drawn from the perspectives of other disciplines, such as anthropology, development studies, environmental studies, and economics. The journal publishes four issues per annum. Peer Review: Each submission goes through a multi-stage rigorous peer review procedure, including screening by editors. Only papers that have a chance to succeed in the external double anonymized peer review process are forwarded to the next stage. At least two experts in the relevant field review each paper. Articles for a special issue must be approved by the guest editor(s) before submission on the journal’s website. The editors of the journal and one external reviewer will assess each article for a special issue. Book reviews are assessed solely by the editors.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 2, Canada 2, Sweden 1, South Africa 1, New Zealand 1 (7 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Global Peace and Security DynamicsSocial Sciences20.4%
- Peacebuilding and International SecuritySocial Sciences15%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences8.5%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences8%
- Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political ViolenceSocial Sciences7.8%
- Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle EastSocial Sciences3.9%
- Global Security and Public HealthSocial Sciences3.6%
- African Studies and GeopoliticsSocial Sciences3.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q2 · 2025
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
African Studies Abstracts Online, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, International Political Science AbstractsPublisher website
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 (publisher) 2025
- 2.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.8LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.64LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.64Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.45Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 32OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 111OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.29OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 47.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 23.4%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 26LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 86,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 342 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 17 | 6 | 4 |
| 2025 | 30 | 15 | 49 |
| 2024 | 25 | 7 | 40 |
| 2023 | 14 | 9 | 44 |
| 2022 | 17 | 8 | 109 |
| 2021 | 28 | 10 | 397 |
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 PubMed · to
Too few articlesOnly 1 articles from the last 24 months carry both submission and acceptance dates, too few for a median
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".
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 18%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 47 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 105 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publisher website | USD 3,250 | — | — |
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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
African Security is a hybrid open access journal that is part of the Taylor & Francis Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research. Why choose open access? Increase the discoverability and reader…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Multi-stage rigorous peer review with editor screening; double anonymized external review by at least two experts. Model summary
Peer Review: Each submission goes through a multi-stage rigorous peer review procedure, including screening by editors. Only papers that have a chance to succeed in the external double anonymized peer review process are forwarded to the next stage. At least two experts in the relevant field review each paper.
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
- Taylor & Francis
- ISSN
- 1939-2206
- Electronic ISSN
- 1939-2214
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 19, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about African Security
What CAS zone is African Security in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, African Security is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Political Science. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of African Security?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2.1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.8, h-index 32.
How long does peer review take at African Security?
The publisher reports about 105 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 18%. 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 JCR quartile is African Security in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q2 (best quartile). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Sociology.
Where are the editorial board members of African Security based?
Of the 7 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (2), Canada (2) and Sweden (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index African Security?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, African Security is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is African Security open access, and what is the APC?
African Security is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,250.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .