Journal profile · HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Balcanica
ISSN 0350-7653 · Institute for Balkan Studies SASA · Serbia
Balcanica: CAS Zone 4 · History (2025 upgraded edition); diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 25 weeks (community reports); 9 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Balcanica is published by Institute for Balkan Studies SASA and is in Zone 4 of History in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Balkans: History, Politics, Society, Balkan and Eastern European Studies and Byzantine Studies and History, together about 55.7% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The journal Balcanica an annual, peer-reviewed journal of the interdisciplinary Institute for Balkan Studies of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts (SASA). It is uniquely universal in its treatment of all topics relating to the Balkans in terms of both chronology and scholarly field. It features original research from prehistoric antiquity to contemporary phenomena. We welcome submissions from all disciplines of humanities: archaeology, anthropology, ethnography, history, art history, linguistics, literature, law. These can concern individual Balkan countries or regions, a group of countries or regions, or the region as a whole, or examine different connections between the Balkans, on one hand, and Europe and the world, on the other. Contributions based on interdisciplinary approach are particularly welcomed. In order to ensure the highest scholarly standard, research articles published in this journal are subjected to rigorous peer-review process which entails initial editor screening and double-blind refereeing by no less than two referees. This journal allows immediate and full open access to all of its content in accordance with the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. In order to increase our visibility and reach as wide readership as possible, the Balcanica is published in English language with the exception of a small number of articles written in French or German. Balcanica is an annual journal. The journal Balcanica publishes original scholarly papers and book reviews that have not been published previously. Balcanica is an Open Access journal. All its content is available free of charge. Users can read, download, copy, distribute, print, search the full text of articles, as well as to establish HTML links to them, without having to seek the consent of the author or publisher. The journal does not charge any fees at submission, reviewing, and production stages.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): HUMANITIES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
Editor-in-chief Boris MilosavljevićPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Serbia 9, Germany 2, United Kingdom 1, France 1, Italy 1 (16 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Balkans: History, Politics, SocietySocial Sciences23.9%
- Balkan and Eastern European StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance23.8%
- Byzantine Studies and HistoryArts and Humanities8%
- Ancient and Medieval Archaeology StudiesArts and Humanities7.3%
- Linguistics and language evolutionArts and Humanities4.3%
- Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and HistoryArts and Humanities3.2%
- Classical Antiquity StudiesSocial Sciences2.5%
- Eastern European Communism and ReformsSocial Sciences2.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)History Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | History | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Humanities, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)History Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | History | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Humanities, Multidisciplinary | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
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
- h-index
- 11OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 11OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.25OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 344 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 9 | 9 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 | 11 | 2 |
| 2023 | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| 2022 | 15 | 15 | 11 |
| 2021 | 10 | 10 | 7 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 25 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 25 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY-NC-ND | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
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
- ≤ 300 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 10,000 words
- Reference style
- Chicago
Article types accepted1
- review articleThe title, in upper and lower case, center position as such: title; author; place of publication; publisher; date published; number of pages. g. Paschalis M. Ki…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review
- Authorship
ORCID required for corresponding authors Model summary
We require all corresponding authors to identify themselves using ORCID when submitting a manuscript to this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Originality requirement Model summary
Any submission must be the original work of the author that has not been published previously, as a whole or in part, either in print or electronically, or is soon to be so published.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright
Copyright permission responsibility Model summary
Authors are responsible for obtaining the IPR owner’s permission to use copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet).
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review policy Model summary
Balcanica has adopted a double-blind review policy, where both the reviewer and author remain anonymous.
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
- Institute for Balkan Studies SASA
- Country or region
- Serbia
- Language
- English, French
- ISSN
- 0350-7653
- Official links
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Balcanica
What CAS zone is Balcanica in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Balcanica is in Zone 4 of History, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Humanities, Multidisciplinary. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of History. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
How long does peer review take at Balcanica?
Authors report an average review time of about 25 weeks. 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 Balcanica?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 300 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 10,000 words; Reference style: Chicago. 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 Balcanica based?
Of the 16 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Serbia (9), Germany (2) and United Kingdom (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Balcanica?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Balcanica is indexed in ESCI and DOAJ.
Is Balcanica open access, and what is the APC?
Balcanica is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .