Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
Political Theory
ISSN 0090-5917 · eISSN 1552-7476 · SAGE
Political Theory: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.67; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,650; review about 431 days (submission to acceptance, publisher); acceptance rate 8.1% (journal website); 85 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Political Theory is published by SAGE 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 Political Philosophy and Ethics, Human auditory perception and evaluation and Social Science and Policy Research, together about 31.7% 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)
Political Theory (PT), peer-reviewed and published bi-monthly, serves as the leading forum for the development and exchange of political ideas. Broad in scope and international in coverage, PT publishes articles on political theory from a wide range of philosophical, ideological and methodological perspectives. Articles address contemporary and historical political thought, normative and cultural theory, the history of ideas, and critical assessments of current work. View full journal description This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 44, United Kingdom 8, Canada 2, India 1, Germany 1 (57 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Political Philosophy and EthicsSocial Sciences11.5%
- Human auditory perception and evaluationEngineering10.4%
- Social Science and Policy ResearchSocial Sciences9.8%
- Historical and modern epidemiology studiesSocial Sciences9.8%
- American Constitutional Law and PoliticsSocial Sciences6.5%
- Political Economy and MarxismSocial Sciences6.2%
- Critical Theory and PhilosophySocial Sciences5.9%
- Political Theory and InfluenceSocial Sciences5.4%
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: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview 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: noReview 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
- 1.67LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.7Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher)
- 1.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 2.7LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.78LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 3.83LetPub ·
- h-index
- 119OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 937OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.38OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.9%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 34.23%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 36LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 3Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 3,143 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 43 | 20 | 1 |
| 2025 | 85 | 28 | 23 |
| 2024 | 23 | 13 | 34 |
| 2023 | 76 | 31 | 329 |
| 2022 | 31 | 5 | 116 |
| 2021 | 72 | 11 | 279 |
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
Publisher-reported review time from the journal's website
431 dayssubmission to acceptance
The publisher's own definition applies; dates from this journal's articles in the last 24 months are not available yet, so the publisher's figure is used.
Figures by source
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 8.1%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 31 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 431 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 51 daysPublisher 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.
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.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePublication ethics, Peer review
- Publication ethics
No simultaneous submission; no prior publication in substantially similar form or content. Model summary
Submission of a manuscript implies commitment to publish in the journal. Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal should not simultaneously submit them to another journal, nor should manuscripts have been published elsewhere in substantially similar form or with substantially similar content.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Manuscripts must be anonymized (identifying information removed). Model summary
All identifying information should be removed from the 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
- SAGE
- ISSN
- 0090-5917
- Electronic ISSN
- 1552-7476
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Political Theory
What CAS zone is Political Theory in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Political Theory is in Zone 2 of Sociology, and in Zone 3 of the minor category 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 Political Theory?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.67; CiteScore 2.7, h-index 119.
How long does peer review take at Political Theory?
The publisher reports about 431 days (submission to acceptance); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 8.1%. 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 Political Theory based?
Of the 57 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (44), United Kingdom (8) and Canada (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Political Theory?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Political Theory is indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Is Political Theory open access, and what is the APC?
Political Theory is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,650.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, 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: .