Journal profile · AREA STUDIES
Journal of Contemporary African Studies
ISSN 0258-9001 · eISSN 1469-9397 · Taylor & Francis
Journal of Contemporary African Studies: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.1 (journal website); JCR Q2 (journal website); hybrid open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 296 days to acceptance (71 articles, last 24 months); 27 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Contemporary African Studies 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 African history and culture studies, African studies and sociopolitical issues and South African History and Culture, together about 32.4% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Journal of Contemporary African Studies (JCAS) is an interdisciplinary journal seeking to promote an African-centred scholarly understanding of societies on the continent and their location within the global political economy. Its scope extends across a wide range of social science and humanities disciplines with topics covered including, but not limited to, culture, development, education, environmental questions, gender, government, labour, land, leadership, political economy politics, social movements, sociology of knowledge and welfare. JCAS welcomes contributions reviewing general trends in the academic literature with a specific focus on debates and developments in Africa as part of a broader aim of contributing towards the development of viable communities of African scholarship. The journal publishes original research articles, book and media reviews, research reports, discussions, and occasional review articles. It also publishes special issues and welcomes proposals for new topics. JCAS is published four times a year, in January, April, July and October. Peer Review Statement: All articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by two referees. The Editors are responsible for the final selection of the contents of the Journal.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): AREA STUDIES
Editor-in-chief Sally MatthewsPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- African history and culture studiesSocial Sciences11.8%
- African studies and sociopolitical issuesSocial Sciences10.8%
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences9.8%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences7.2%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences5.8%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences5.3%
- Educational Robotics and EngineeringComputer Science4.5%
- Global Peace and Security DynamicsSocial Sciences4.2%
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 | 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 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
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
ESCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
ABC-CLIO (America: History & Life, & Historical Abstracts), African Studies Abstracts Online, CSA Political Science Abstracts, CSA Sociological Abstracts, CSA Social Planning / Policy Development Abstracts, International Political Science 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 (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 2Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.37LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.37Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.98LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.98Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 59OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 445OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.83OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 6.1%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 23LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 73,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,274 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 57 | 29 | 17 |
| 2025 | 27 | 10 | 12 |
| 2024 | 37 | 12 | 72 |
| 2023 | 24 | 6 | 66 |
| 2022 | 27 | 8 | 140 |
| 2021 | 71 | 13 | 940 |
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
296 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 227 days – 694 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 45 days (77 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 349 days
- Sample
- 71 articles with submission and acceptance dates (94 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".
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 accepted6
- book and media reviewsThe journal publishes original research articles, book and media reviews, research reports, discussions, and occasional review articles.Length not stated
- discussionsThe journal publishes original research articles, book and media reviews, research reports, discussions, and occasional review articles.Length not stated
- occasional review articlesThe journal publishes original research articles, book and media reviews, research reports, discussions, and occasional review articles.Length not stated
- original research articlesThe journal publishes original research articles, book and media reviews, research reports, discussions, and occasional review articles.Length not stated
- research reportsThe journal publishes original research articles, book and media reviews, research reports, discussions, and occasional review articles.Length not stated
- special issuesIt also publishes special issues and welcomes proposals for new topics.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Journal of Contemporary African 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 dis…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Peer review statement Model summary
All articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by two referees.
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
- 0258-9001
- Electronic ISSN
- 1469-9397
- Society / sponsor
- Institute of Social and Economic Research
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 44, Issue 3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Contemporary African Studies
What CAS zone is Journal of Contemporary African Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Contemporary African Studies is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category 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 Journal of Contemporary African Studies?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 1.1 (2025); this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 2, h-index 59.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Contemporary African Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 71 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 296 days (interquartile range 227–694 days). 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 Journal of Contemporary African Studies 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.
Which databases index Journal of Contemporary African Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Contemporary African Studies is indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Is Journal of Contemporary African Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Contemporary African Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, 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: .