Journal profile · Arts and Humanities-History
Defence Studies
ISSN 1470-2436 · eISSN 1743-9698 · Taylor & Francis
Defence Studies: subscription journal; APC charged, amount not published; median 243 days to acceptance (92 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 26% (journal website); 55 articles in 2025; indexed in Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Defence Studies is published by Taylor & Francis. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Military History and Strategy, Defense, Military, and Policy Studies and Military Strategy and Technology, together about 37.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Defence Studies is a scholarly journal aimed at the study of contemporary defence and emergent warfare from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. The scope of the journal is set to examine how armed forces seek to engage with conceptual, strategic and operational challenges. We welcome papers that consider how states and non-state actors think and determine insecurities through defence policies. The journal also encourages papers that engage with how defence strategy is constructed and operationalised. Following this, we look for papers that explore operational deployment in conflict zones and alternative battlespaces. The journal is an arena for debate in and around defence studies from both traditional and critical studies. We welcome scholars who explore these debates in the areas of war studies, strategic theory, policy studies, critical security as well as case study, regional and global comparisons. The journal has recently published on force transformation, cyber defence, counter-insurgency (COIN), naval warfare and tactical nuclear strategy. Articles and essays are aimed at defence scholars, analytics and professionals as well as those in war and conflict studies. The journal is especially keen to appeal to those working on defence from cross-disciplinary and policy perspectives. While we note the emphasis in relating to those looking for discussion and analysis without the depths of theoretical meandering, we aim to indicate how the nature and character of war are influenced by the martial, political, economic and techno-scientific fields. Peer Review Submissions to Defence Studies will proceed through a double anonymized peer review process. Referees are drawn from proven defence and war studies experts in academia, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and, on occasion, defence and police forces. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, research articles are then subject to peer review by (normally two) independent, anonymous expert referees. For special issues, all articles will be subject to a similar peer-preview process for the individual articles and at least one expert referee will review the special issue as a completed and coherent piece of work. Book reviews do not go through peer review but are reviewed instead by the journal's editorial team.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Arts and Humanities-History
Editor-in-chief Simon J. SmithPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United Kingdom 8, United States 4, Denmark 3, India 1, Italy 1 (19 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Military History and StrategySocial Sciences13.6%
- Defense, Military, and Policy StudiesEconomics, Econometrics and Finance12.4%
- Military Strategy and TechnologyEngineering11.3%
- International Relations and Foreign PolicySocial Sciences10.2%
- Military and Defense StudiesSocial Sciences8.2%
- Military Technology and StrategiesEngineering8.2%
- European and Russian Geopolitical Military StrategiesSocial Sciences6.8%
- European Politics and SecuritySocial Sciences3.2%
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.
CiteScore quartiles (Scopus, June 2026 release)
| Subject | Quartile | Rank | Percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| History | Q1 | 50/1936 | 97th |
| Political Science and International Relations | Q2 | 190/745 | 74th |
Scopus ranks journals by CiteScore within each subject: the 75th percentile and above is Q1, then a quartile every 25 points. A different system from the CAS zones.LetPub
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- 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
ScopusLetPub
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
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.9LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2.9Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.48LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.48Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.18LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 1.18Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 33OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 174OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.95OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Volume
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 247,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 866 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 36 | 23 | 697 |
| 2025 | 55 | 31 | 701 |
| 2024 | 36 | 19 | 722 |
| 2023 | 40 | 19 | 601 |
| 2022 | 48 | 23 | 539 |
| 2021 | 35 | 18 | 481 |
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
243 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 114 days – 359 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 9 days (92 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 256 days
- Sample
- 92 articles with submission and acceptance dates (96 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)
- 26%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 182 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 178 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 7 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
Defence Studies 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 readers…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review
Double anonymized peer review process Model summary
Submissions to Defence Studies will proceed through a double anonymized peer review process. Referees are drawn from proven defence and war studies experts in academia, think tanks, non-governmental organisations and, on occasion, defence and police forces. All submitted manuscripts are subject to initial appraisal by the editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, research articles…
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
- 1470-2436
- Electronic ISSN
- 1743-9698
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 26, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Defence Studies
How long does peer review take at Defence Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 92 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 243 days (interquartile range 114–359 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 26%. 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 Defence Studies based?
Of the 19 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (8), United States (4) and Denmark (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Defence Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Defence Studies is indexed in Scopus.
Is Defence Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Defence Studies 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 2026-08-25). Last updated: .