Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Studies
ISSN 0032-3217 · eISSN 1467-9248 · SAGE
Political Studies: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal); impact factor 2.73; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; 89 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Political Studies is published by SAGE and is in Zone 2 of Sociology in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition, Top journal). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Electoral Systems and Political Participation, Political Philosophy and Ethics and Social Policy and Reform Studies, together about 30.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences13.9%
- Political Philosophy and EthicsSocial Sciences9.5%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences7.4%
- Political and Economic history of UK and USSocial Sciences6.7%
- Populism, Right-Wing MovementsSocial Sciences5.6%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences5.2%
- American Constitutional Law and PoliticsSocial Sciences4.3%
- Political Economy and MarxismSocial 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 | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 1
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 1 |
| Minor | International Relations | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 2 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: yesReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
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
- Impact factor
- 2.73LetPub ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 8.2LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.99LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.04LetPub ·
- h-index
- 157OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,801OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.56OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.6%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 63.16%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 85LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,024 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 68 | 46 | 10 |
| 2025 | 89 | 67 | 149 |
| 2024 | 77 | 66 | 440 |
| 2023 | 47 | 33 | 644 |
| 2022 | 40 | 25 | 692 |
| 2021 | 82 | 57 | 2,151 |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,650 / GBP 2,676 | — | — |
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.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0032-3217
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-9248
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Political Studies
What CAS zone is Political Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Political Studies is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Political Science; it is a Top journal. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 1 of Sociology. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Political Studies?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 2.73; CiteScore 8.2, h-index 157.
Which databases index Political Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Political Studies is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Political Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Political Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, 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: .