Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS
ISSN 1466-2043 · eISSN 1743-9094 · Taylor & Francis
COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.3 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 304 days to acceptance (29 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 32% (journal website); 29 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS is published by Taylor & Francis and is in Zone 4 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are South Asian Studies and Conflicts, Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies and Political Conflict and Governance, together about 23.6% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Established in 1961, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics is the premier comparative politics journal in Britain and the Commonwealth. It has consistently ranked in the global top third of the Sociology and Political Science, and Political Science and International Relations journal categories ( http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php). The Journal primarily publishes research on Commonwealth countries that is of general significance for the field of comparative politics or which addresses issues in international relations directly relevant to the study of the Commonwealth and its 53 member states. It also publishes work on other states where it is of importance for comparative politics generally or enables comparison with Commonwealth countries. The main criteria for publication is that the articles present original research or an original viewpoint. All manuscripts are submitted directly to the Co-Editors and, subject to their initial appraisal, are then anonymously peer reviewed by independent, anonymous, expert referees. From its inception the Journal has been recognised as a world leader in research on the evolution of the Westminster Model and the politics of small states and has consistently sought to publish research in all important emerging fields within comparative politics, including international political economy and comparative judicial studies.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Andrew WyattPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 25%); most named Mainland China 1, United Kingdom 1, Italy 1, Canada 1 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- South Asian Studies and ConflictsSocial Sciences8.3%
- Southeast Asian Sociopolitical StudiesSocial Sciences7.7%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences7.6%
- Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle EastSocial Sciences7.1%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences7%
- Island Studies and Pacific AffairsSocial Sciences5.6%
- Commonwealth, Australian Politics and FederalismSocial Sciences4.6%
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences4%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| 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: noReview 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
- 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
EBSCO, Naver, African Education Research Database, CABI, EBSCO Historical Abstracts, E-Lib Bremen, NAVER Academic, National Library of China, Thomson Reuters Emerging Citations IndexPublisher 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
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.72LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.72Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.35LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.35Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 53OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 328OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.63OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 15.4%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 26.42%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 18LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 96,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 943 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 11 | 5 | 10 |
| 2025 | 29 | 12 | 52 |
| 2024 | 35 | 10 | 60 |
| 2023 | 40 | 8 | 181 |
| 2022 | 49 | 7 | 530 |
| 2021 | 34 | 9 | 178 |
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
304 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 246 days – 381 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 25 days (29 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 341 days
- Sample
- 29 articles with submission and acceptance dates (51 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 32%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 60 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 274 daysPublisher 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 | 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 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 discove…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review Model summary
All manuscripts are submitted directly to the Co-Editors and, subject to their initial appraisal, are then anonymously peer reviewed by independent, anonymous, expert referees.
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
- 1466-2043
- Electronic ISSN
- 1743-9094
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 64, Issue 1 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS
What CAS zone is COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS is in Zone 4 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 COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.3 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.5, h-index 53.
How long does peer review take at COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS?
Based on the dates recorded on 29 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 304 days (interquartile range 246–381 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 32%. 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.
Where are the editorial board members of COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 25%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (1), United Kingdom (1) and Italy (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS open access, and what is the APC?
COMMONWEALTH & COMPARATIVE POLITICS is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .