Journal profile · AREA STUDIES
Contemporary South Asia
ISSN 0958-4935 · eISSN 1469-364X · Taylor & Francis
Contemporary South Asia: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 0.97; JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 130 days (first decision after review, publisher); acceptance rate 14% (journal website); 86 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Contemporary South Asia 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, Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East and Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies, together about 36.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The countries of South Asia – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and The Maldives – are internally diverse and shaped by global flows of people, commodities, ideas, cultures, and practices. Contemporary South Asia publishes rigorous critically engaged scholarship focusing on post-colonial South Asia (with an awareness of the blurred boundaries and colonial constructions of ‘region’) and its diasporas from across the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Our aim is to create a vibrant research space to explore multidimensional issues, from across the region, through narrative driven and empirically grounded research. Peer Review Statement All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by referees. All Research Notes, Viewpoints and Book Reviews undergo editorial screening. Book Reviews Contemporary South Asia carries a substantial number of book reviews in each issue. We review books on all aspects related to the study of South Asia. We also publish occasional Book Forum features, where a range of writers comment on one recently published book, with a response from the author. Please take a look at the downloadable list of books currently available for review.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): AREA STUDIES
Editor-in-chief Thomas ChambersPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 3, Bangladesh 1, Sri Lanka 1 (5 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- South Asian Studies and ConflictsSocial Sciences17.4%
- Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle EastSocial Sciences9.9%
- Southeast Asian Sociopolitical StudiesSocial Sciences9.5%
- Anthropological Studies and InsightsSocial Sciences7.3%
- South Asian Cinema and CultureArts and Humanities5.9%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering5.9%
- South Asian Studies and DiasporaArts and Humanities5%
- Indian Economic and Social DevelopmentEconomics, Econometrics and Finance4.8%
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 | Asian Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Asian Studies | 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 | Asian Studies | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Area Studies | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · best quartile · 2025
- 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
SSCIAHCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, SASNET (Swedish South Asian Studies Network), Sociological AbstractsPublisher 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
- 0.97LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.45LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.45Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.09LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.09Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 55OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 427OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.69OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.81%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 45LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 142,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,840 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 73 | 21 | 18 |
| 2025 | 86 | 15 | 44 |
| 2024 | 76 | 16 | 99 |
| 2023 | 87 | 21 | 295 |
| 2022 | 87 | 15 | 336 |
| 2021 | 78 | 11 | 340 |
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
130 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)
- 14%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 108 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 130 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 21 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 accepted4
- book reviewsAll Research Notes, Viewpoints and Book Reviews undergo editorial screening.Length not stated
- research articlesAll research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by referees.Length not stated
- research notesAll Research Notes, Viewpoints and Book Reviews undergo editorial screening.Length not stated
- viewpointsAll Research Notes, Viewpoints and Book Reviews undergo editorial screening.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Contemporary South Asia 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…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Statement
Peer review statement: research articles undergo rigorous peer review based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing. Model summary
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by referees. All Research Notes, Viewpoints and Book Reviews undergo editorial screening.
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
- 0958-4935
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-364X
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 34, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Contemporary South Asia
What CAS zone is Contemporary South Asia in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Contemporary South Asia is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Asian Studies / Area Studies. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Contemporary South Asia?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 0.97; CiteScore 1.6, h-index 55.
How long does peer review take at Contemporary South Asia?
The publisher reports about 130 days (first decision after review); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 14%. 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 South Asia 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 4 of Sociology.
Where are the editorial board members of Contemporary South Asia based?
Of the 5 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (3), Bangladesh (1) and Sri Lanka (1). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Contemporary South Asia?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Contemporary South Asia is indexed in SSCI, AHCI and Scopus.
Is Contemporary South Asia open access, and what is the APC?
Contemporary South Asia 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: .