Journal profile · ANTHROPOLOGY
Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology
ISSN 0920-1297 · eISSN 1558-5263 · Berghahn Books · United States
Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2.18; diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 16 weeks (community reports); 29 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology is published by Berghahn Books 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 Anthropological Studies and Insights, Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism and Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies, together about 25.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations and Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Focaal – Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology is a peer-reviewed journal advocating an approach that rests in the simultaneity of ethnography, processual analysis, local insights, and global vision. It is at the heart of debates on the ongoing conjunction of anthropology and history, as well as the incorporation of local research settings in the wider spatial networks of coercion, imagination, and exchange that are often glossed as "globalization" or "empire." Seeking contributions on all world regions, Focaal is unique among anthropology journals for consistently rejecting the old separations between "at home" and "abroad," "center" and "periphery." The journal therefore strives for the resurrection of an "anthropology at large" that can accommodate issues of the global south, postsocialism, mobility, metropolitan experience, capitalist power, and popular resistance into integrated perspectives.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): ANTHROPOLOGY
Editor-in-chief Luisa SteurPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Anthropological Studies and InsightsSocial Sciences10.9%
- Housing, Finance, and NeoliberalismEconomics, Econometrics and Finance7.4%
- Southeast Asian Sociopolitical StudiesSocial Sciences7.1%
- Agriculture, Land Use, Rural DevelopmentAgricultural and Biological Sciences6.8%
- Political Economy and MarxismSocial Sciences6%
- Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSocial Sciences5.2%
- Balkans: History, Politics, SocietySocial Sciences4.6%
- Water Governance and InfrastructureSocial Sciences3.8%
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 | Anthropology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Anthropology | 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 | Anthropology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of SciencePubMedERIH PLUSCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Abstracts in Anthropology (Baywood), Anthropological Index (RAI), Bibliometric Research Indicator List (BFI) – Level 2, Biography Index (Ebsco), Cabell's Directory, Current Bibliography on African Affairs (Baywood), MLA Directory of Periodicals, MLA International Bibliography, Periodicals Acquisitions (Proquest), Social Sciences Abstracts (Ebsco), Social Sciences Index (Ebsco), Social Services Abstracts (Proquest), Sociological Abstracts (Proquest), Sustainability Science Abstracts (Proquest), Worldwide Political Science Abstracts (Proquest)
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
- 2.18LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.66LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.79LetPub ·
- h-index
- 36OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 205OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.23OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 4.3%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 27LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 686 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 22 | 22 | 2 |
| 2025 | 29 | 29 | 25 |
| 2024 | 30 | 30 | 73 |
| 2023 | 21 | 21 | 85 |
| 2022 | 28 | 28 | 234 |
| 2021 | 34 | 34 | 156 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 16 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY, CC BY-ND, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| 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)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 125 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 5
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 8,000 words
- Reference style
- APA
Article types accepted1, with length limits
- review articlee book review editor. When writing your review article, please follow the following guidelines: A review article should be 3,000 words max (all included -- i.e.…main text ≤ 3,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Peer review
- License & copyright License Agreement
CC BY-NC-ND default license Model summary
As part of the Berghahn Open Anthro initiative, articles in this journal are published open access under a Creative Commons license. As a contributor to a Berghahn Books Journal, you are responsible for completing, signing, and returning one of the signed license agreements for each author with your submitted article. Submit forms to copyright@berghahnjournals.com. By default Authors will use the …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Double-blind peer review Model summary
The editors certify that all materials, with the possible exception of editorial commentaries, review articles, and the forum, have been subjected to double-blind peer review by qualified scholars in the field.
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
- Berghahn Books
- Country or region
- United States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0920-1297
- Electronic ISSN
- 1558-5263
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 2026, Issue 105 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology
What CAS zone is Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Anthropology. 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 Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.18; CiteScore 3, h-index 36.
How long does peer review take at Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology?
Authors report an average review time of about 16 weeks. 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 are the manuscript requirements of Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 125 words; Keywords: ≥ 5; Manuscript length: ≤ 8,000 words; Reference style: APA. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Which databases index Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology is indexed in SSCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science, PubMed, ERIH PLUS and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology open access, and what is the APC?
Focaal-Journal of Global and Historical Anthropology is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, Publisher website; 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: .