Middle East Critique

Middle East Critique is published by Taylor & Francis 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 Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies, Middle East Politics and Society and Islamic Studies and History, together about 40% 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)

Middle East Critique provides a forum to develop intellectually innovative perspectives on and through key political, social, economic, and cultural aspects of the contemporary Middle East/West Asia and North Africa. In order to stimulate the critical understanding of the complex nature of ideas, values, social configurations, and material realities of Middle Eastern societies, Middle East Critique publishes analyses drawing on heterodox theoretical perspectives and methods. The journal particularly encourages contributions that think through those contexts to reflect upon, advance and challenge heterodox approaches themselves. Middle East Critique provides a forum for interdisciplinary scholarship based on solid empirical research and innovative critical readings of developments in the region. Analytically, the journal welcomes the exploration and development of heterodox theoretical approaches. Methodologically, Middle East Critique invites contributions drawing on qualitative methods, mixed methods, and critical/heterodox approaches. Geographically, the journal focuses on the Middle East region, broadly defined as stretching across North Africa from the Atlantic coast of Morocco to Egypt and south to Sudan, the Mediterranean coast from Palestine/Israel to the Anatolian Peninsula (Turkey), West Asia (Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan) and the Arabian Peninsula. Critique welcomes contributions analyzing diverse cultural, economic, political and social issues of individual countries as well as regional comparisons and critical examinations of international political problems/relations. Although Critique is not a history journal, we do consider contributions about historical events that provide insights relevant to contemporary political issues. Peer Review Statement All submitted research articles undergo an initial editor screening, followed by double-blind peer review with at least two independent referees.

From the journal's Aims & Scope

Research area (LetPub): AREA STUDIES

Editor-in-chief Matteo CapassoPublisher website

Editorial board by country: 5 in mainland China (about 63%); most named Mainland China 5, United States 1, Iran 1, Morocco 1 (8 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website · 2026-09-30

CAS Journal Ranking

JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website

• JCR Q1 · best quartile · 2025
• 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

SSCIScopusLetPub

International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub

Indexing the journal's website claims

Web of SciencePublisher website

Other: Alternative Press Index, Left Index, MLA International Bibliography, Sociological Abstracts, Clarivate Analytics - Journal Citations Reports

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.

Impact

Impact factor

3.11LetPub · 2026-09-13

Impact factor (publisher) 2025

3.2Publisher website · 2026-09-30

5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025

2.9Publisher website · 2026-09-30

CiteScore 2026-06

2.8LetPub · 2026-09-13

CiteScore (publisher) 2025

2.8Publisher website · 2026-09-30

SJR 2026-06

0.69LetPub · 2026-09-13

SJR (publisher) 2025

0.69Publisher website · 2026-09-30

SNIP 2026-06

2.09LetPub · 2026-09-13

SNIP (publisher) 2025

2.09Publisher website · 2026-09-30

h-index

35OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

i10-index

147OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

2-year mean citedness

2.54OpenAlex · 2026-10-01

Self-citation rate

31.2%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Share of gold OA articles

16.67%LetPub · 2026-09-13

Volume

Articles per year

102LetPub · 2026-09-13

Downloads per year (publisher) 2025

204,000Publisher website · 2026-09-30

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.

Other sources

Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025

34%Publisher website · 2026-09-30

Submission to first decision 2025

36 daysPublisher website · 2026-09-30

First decision after review 2025

99 daysPublisher website · 2026-09-30

Acceptance to publication 2025

29 daysPublisher website · 2026-09-30

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.

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.

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.

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

ISSN

1943-6149

Electronic ISSN

1943-6157

Latest issue on the website

Volume 35, Issue 2 (2026)

Official links

• Journal homepage ↗LetPub
• Submission system ↗Publisher website
• Special issues ↗Publisher website