Journal profile · Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations
Comparative Strategy
ISSN 0149-5933 · eISSN 1521-0448 · Taylor & Francis
Comparative Strategy: subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; review about 9 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 40% (journal website); 64 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Comparative Strategy is published by Taylor & Francis. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are International Relations and Foreign Policy, Nuclear Issues and Defense and European and Russian Geopolitical Military Strategies, together about 36.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Comparative Strategy draws on historical perspectives and strategic insights from leading international defense analysts and subject-matter experts to provide a framework for considering the critical security issues of today and tomorrow. The journal strives to revitalize the thinking behind basic assumptions within Western foreign and defense policymaking and defense-planning, believing that the dynamic changes in the world since the collapse of the Soviet Union, including Russian and Chinese expansionist military objectives and the rise of new, potentially hostile and dangerous regional state and non-state powers are transforming the strategic landscape. The journal regularly features: Timely commentary by leading U.S. and foreign policymakers, defense specialists, and security analysts Special issues on key topics such as "Ballistic Missile Defense: New Requirements for a New Century," "Nuclear Weapons in South Asia," “The Future of Russia," and "Intelligence Reform" Texts of the latest U.S. government, foreign, and NATO documentation on major defense issues, particularly with regard to proliferation and counter-proliferation policies Significant speeches and expert testimony before Congress Peer Review Policy: All papers in this journal have undergone editorial screening by the editor. Research articles are then sent out for double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent referees. Readership: Professional analysts of foreign and defense policy; the defense industry; and academics and students in the fields of international relations, military science, and military history.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations
Editor-in-chief Steve LambakisPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 2, Russia 1 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- International Relations and Foreign PolicySocial Sciences14.7%
- Nuclear Issues and DefenseSocial Sciences12.5%
- European and Russian Geopolitical Military StrategiesSocial Sciences9%
- Military History and StrategySocial Sciences7.7%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering6.1%
- Defense, Military, and Policy StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance5.5%
- Military and Defense StudiesSocial Sciences4.9%
- Diverse Scientific and Economic StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ProQuest, OCLC, ASSIA: Applied Social Science Index & Abstracts, CSA, EBSCOhost Online Research Databases, H.W. Wilson Social Science Abstracts (SocialSciAbs), H.W. Wilson Indexes, IBZ International Bibliography for Periodical Literature, International Biography of the Social Sciences (IBSS), International Political Science Abstracts, ISI, Lancaster Index, PAIS International, Periodical Abstracts (PerAbs), Periodicals Index Online, ProQuest Research Library, SwetsWise All Titles, Ulrichs Periodicals DirectoryPublisher 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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.26LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.26Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.54LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.54Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 30OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 170OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.44OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 130,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,772 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 57 | 15 | 5 |
| 2025 | 64 | 14 | 101 |
| 2024 | 44 | 8 | 132 |
| 2023 | 45 | 4 | 84 |
| 2022 | 41 | 5 | 162 |
| 2021 | 64 | 10 | 218 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
9 daysfirst decision after review
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 40%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 9 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 27 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
Subscription journalLetPub
A subscription journal: articles are read by subscription or purchase, and authors usually pay no publication charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Comparative Strategy 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 re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
All papers in this journal have undergone editorial screening by the editor. Research articles are then sent out for double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent referees. Model summary
All papers in this journal have undergone editorial screening by the editor. Research articles are then sent out for double-anonymous peer review by at least two independent 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
- 0149-5933
- Electronic ISSN
- 1521-0448
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 45, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Comparative Strategy
How long does peer review take at Comparative Strategy?
The publisher reports about 9 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 40%. 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 Comparative Strategy based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (2) and Russia (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Comparative Strategy?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Comparative Strategy is indexed in Scopus.
Is Comparative Strategy open access, and what is the APC?
Comparative Strategy is a subscription journal. 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: .