Journal profile · Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations
Frontiers in Political Science
ISSN 2673-3145 · Frontiers Media S.A. · Switzerland
Frontiers in Political Science: CAS Zone 3 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 2 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; review about 13 weeks (community reports); 357 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Frontiers in Political Science is published by Frontiers Media S.A. and is in Zone 3 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Populism, Right-Wing Movements, Social Media and Politics and Electoral Systems and Political Participation, together about 35.2% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science and Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Frontiers in Political Science is a multidisciplinary journal that focuses on the theory and practice of governments and political systems at various levels, including local, state, national, and international. With an Impact Factor of 1.9 (Clarivate) and a Citescore of 3.8 (Scopus), the journal is led by Field Chief Editors, Prof Wenfang Tang (School of Humanities and Social Science, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen) and Prof Roula Nezi (University of Surrey, UK), and considers the societal and cultural factors that influence government operations and policy theories. Topics include, but are not limited to: comparative governance elections and representation peace and democracy political economy political participation political science methodologies politics of technology refugees and conflict. Manuscripts that purely focus on economic issues, such as economic theories or market dynamics, are not suitable for publication in this journal. Similarly, studies that are purely applying theories form natural sciences, pure mathematics, literary criticism, fine arts, and medical sciences are not appropriate for this journal. While political psychology is a subfield of political science, psychological research focused solely on individual or group behavior without a political context is also not suitable for this journal. It is important to note that interdisciplinary research can sometimes bridge multiple fields, and boundaries between disciplines are not always rigid. Frontiers in Political Science is committed to advancing developments in the field of political science by allowing unrestricted access to articles, and communicating scientific knowledge to researchers and the public alike, to enable the scientific breakthroughs of the future. Frontiers in Political Science is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Social Sciences-Political Science and International Relations
Editorial board by country: 1 in mainland China (about 6%); most named Italy 5, United States 2, Netherlands 2, Mainland China 1, Hong Kong, China 1 (17 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Populism, Right-Wing MovementsSocial Sciences12.6%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences12.1%
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences10.4%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences5.5%
- Misinformation and Its ImpactsSocial Sciences4.8%
- Peacebuilding and International SecuritySocial Sciences4.2%
- Migration, Refugees, and IntegrationSocial Sciences3.8%
- International Relations and Foreign PolicySocial Sciences3.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | International Relations | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | International Relations | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Web of ScienceERIH PLUSPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, CLOCKSS, Crossref
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 (publisher)
- 2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.5LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 2.5Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.59LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.12LetPub ·
- h-index
- 41OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 212OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.83%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 328LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,536 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 530 | 530 | 121 |
| 2025 | 357 | 357 | 803 |
| 2024 | 190 | 190 | 753 |
| 2023 | 135 | 135 | 1,273 |
| 2022 | 161 | 161 | 1,580 |
| 2021 | 148 | 148 | 3,138 |
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 13 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 13 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single 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
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | CHF 1,495 | Yes | CC BY, CC0 | |
| OpenAlex | CHF 1,175 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 1,285 | Yes | — | |
| 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 websiteAI use, Conflicts of interest, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Use of AI to create written or visual content
Authors should not list a generative AI technology as a co-author or author of any submitted manuscript. Generative AI technologies cannot be held accountable for all aspects of a manuscript and consequently do not meet the criteria required for authorship. If the author of a submitted manuscript has used written or visual content produced by or edited using a generative AI technology, this use mu…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Safeguards against financial conflicts of interest
Only leading researchers acting as Associate Editors, who are not part of Frontiers' staff, can make acceptance decisions based on reviews performed by external experts acting as Community Reviewers or Reviewers. None have a financial incentive to accept articles, i.e. they are not paid for their role as Associate Editor or community Reviewer, and any award scheme is not linked to acceptances of m…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Open access and copyright
Figures, tables, and images published under CC-BY; permission required for copyrighted material from other sources. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access and copyright
Open access under CC-BY license (version 4.0) for all articles from July 2012 onwards. Model summary
All Frontiers' articles from July 2012 onwards are published with open access under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (the current version is CC-BY, version 4.0). This means that the author(s) retains copyright, but the content is free to download, distribute, and adapt for commercial or non-commercial purposes, given appropriate attribution to the original article. Upon submission, the author(s)…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Manuscripts must meet international English language standards. Model summary
Our rigorous, transparent peer review process combines expert review and constructive dialogue to strengthen your manuscript.
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
- Frontiers Media S.A.
- Country or region
- Switzerland
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2673-3145
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Frontiers in Political Science
What CAS zone is Frontiers in Political Science in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Frontiers in Political Science is in Zone 3 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category International Relations / 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 Frontiers in Political Science?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2.5, h-index 41.
How long does peer review take at Frontiers in Political Science?
Authors report an average review time of about 13 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.
Where are the editorial board members of Frontiers in Political Science based?
Of the 17 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 1 (about 6%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Italy (5), United States (2) and Netherlands (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Frontiers in Political Science?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Frontiers in Political Science is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ. The journal's website also lists Web of Science and ERIH PLUS; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Frontiers in Political Science open access, and what is the APC?
Frontiers in Political Science is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website, DOAJ; 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: .