Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
Contemporary Politics
ISSN 1356-9775 · eISSN 1469-3631 · Taylor & Francis
Contemporary Politics: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.84; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 156 days to acceptance (87 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 16% (journal website); 46 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Contemporary Politics 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 Political Conflict and Governance, International Development and Aid and European Union Policy and Governance, together about 24% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Contemporary Politics is an international peer-reviewed journal which examines the intersection of national and international politics. Recognising that the boundaries between domestic and international politics are inherently porous, it provides a platform for studies which problematise, cross or transcend the disciplinary divide between international relations and comparative politics. It publishes scholarly work which explores international interactions without ignoring the role of national and local trends, and/or explains national difference while being sensitive broader trends in contemporary global politics. Over the last two decades, Contemporary Politics has developed a track record of publishing on political institutions, governance regimes and political economy. However, the journal welcome submissions on any topic which sits at the intersection of domestic and international politics. It takes an interest in major conceptual and theoretical issues generated by current world politics, and carries articles which should be accessible to informed academic and non-academic audiences. Contemporary Politics is keen to uncover and explain politics in hidden spaces, which are obscured by the conventional disciplinary categories of comparative politics and international relations. It is not constrained by disciplinary boundaries, and welcomes submissions that bring marginalized and misunderstood aspects of contemporary politics into focus and into the academic mainstream. While the journal does not have a book review section, it publishes lengthy review articles that are both theoretically-rich and empirically informed. Authors of prospective review articles are encouraged to contact the editors to discuss proposals.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Andrew RosserPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences9.2%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences7.9%
- European Union Policy and GovernanceSocial Sciences6.9%
- International Relations and Foreign PolicySocial Sciences6.6%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences6.1%
- Populism, Right-Wing MovementsSocial Sciences5.6%
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences5.4%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5%
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 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)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- CiteScore Q1 · 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
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
International Political Science Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts and Zeller Verlag (IBZ/IBR)Publisher 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
- 1.84LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 2.8Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 4.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.94LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.94Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.99LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.99Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 55OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 385OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.62%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 47LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 181,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,096 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 35 | 20 | 12 |
| 2025 | 46 | 18 | 116 |
| 2024 | 48 | 26 | 214 |
| 2023 | 35 | 22 | 209 |
| 2022 | 25 | 11 | 529 |
| 2021 | 39 | 13 | 391 |
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
156 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 117 days – 210 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (87 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 183 days
- Sample
- 87 articles with submission and acceptance dates (89 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)
- 16%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 7 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 83 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 24 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)
Article types accepted1
- review articleReview ArticleLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access
- Open access Open access
Hybrid open access journal (Taylor & Francis Open Select). Model summary
Contemporary 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 discoverability and r…
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
- 1356-9775
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-3631
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 32, Issue 4 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Contemporary Politics
What CAS zone is Contemporary Politics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Contemporary Politics 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 2 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Contemporary Politics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.84; CiteScore 4.6, h-index 55.
How long does peer review take at Contemporary Politics?
Based on the dates recorded on 87 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 156 days (interquartile range 117–210 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 16%. 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 Contemporary Politics 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.
Which databases index Contemporary Politics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Contemporary Politics is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Contemporary Politics open access, and what is the APC?
Contemporary 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: .