Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
British Journal of Political Science
ISSN 0007-1234 · eISSN 1469-2112 · Cambridge University Press
British Journal of Political Science: CAS Zone 1 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 4.55; fully open access; APC about USD 3,655; 184 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
British Journal of Political Science is published by Cambridge University Press and is in Zone 1 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Electoral Systems and Political Participation, Diverse Scientific and Economic Studies and Social Policy and Reform Studies, together about 37.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The British Journal of Political Science (BJPolS) is a broadly based journal aiming to cover developments across a wide range of countries and specialisms. Contributions are drawn from all fields of political science (including political theory, political behaviour, public policy and international relations), and articles from scholars in related disciplines (sociology, social psychology, economics and philosophy) appear frequently. With a reputation established over 50 years of publication, the BJPolS is widely recognised as one of the premier journals in its field.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 33, United Kingdom 21, Germany 3, France 3, Italy 3 (69 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences23%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.5%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences7.3%
- Legal case studies and regulationsSocial Sciences5.3%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting5.2%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences5.1%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences4.6%
- Gender Politics and RepresentationSocial Sciences4.4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 1 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
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
- Impact factor
- 4.55LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 20Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 3.58LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.05LetPub ·
- h-index
- 191OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,681OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 3.77OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 6.5%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 96.47%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 178LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,719 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 49 | 49 | 16 |
| 2025 | 184 | 184 | 648 |
| 2024 | 47 | 46 | 392 |
| 2023 | 77 | 74 | 1,401 |
| 2022 | 78 | 66 | 1,855 |
| 2021 | 98 | 62 | 2,750 |
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
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 71 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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 2,610 / USD 3,655 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-SA, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC, CC BY-NC-SA, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 3,550 / GBP 2,460 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
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)
Article types accepted3
- commentThe journal accepts the following types of article: Research Article* Letter* Comment**Length not stated
- letterThe journal accepts the following types of article: Research Article*Letter*Comment**Length not stated
- research articleThe journal accepts the following types of article: Research Article*Letter*Comment**Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review Peer Review Process
Peer review process information is available via a link. Model summary
For information on the journal’s peer review process, please click here.
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
- Cambridge University Press
- ISSN
- 0007-1234
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-2112
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about British Journal of Political Science
What CAS zone is British Journal of Political Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, British Journal of Political Science is in Zone 1 of Sociology, and in Zone 1 of the minor category Political Science; it is a Top journal. 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 British Journal of Political Science?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 4.55; CiteScore 7.2, h-index 191.
Where are the editorial board members of British Journal of Political Science based?
Of the 69 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (33), United Kingdom (21) and Germany (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index British Journal of Political Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, British Journal of Political Science is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is British Journal of Political Science open access, and what is the APC?
British Journal of Political Science is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,655.
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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .