Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
Politikon
ISSN 0258-9346 · eISSN 1470-1014 · International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS) · Netherlands
Politikon: CAS Zone 4 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.1; fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 364 days to acceptance (44 articles, last 24 months); 32 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Politikon is published by International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS) 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 South African History and Culture, Legal Issues in South Africa and International Development and Aid, together about 38.1% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Published since 1974, Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies is the official journal of the South African Association of Political Studies. The journal has no connection to Politikon: IAPSS Journal of Political Science, founded by the International Association for Political Science Students in 2001. Politikon focuses primarily on South African politics and international relations, but not exclusively so. The journal is committed to publishing quality scholarship on Southern African politics, African politics and global political issues, both from a political economy and socio-political perspective. We particularly welcome submissions on topical socio-political and political economy issues in Global South. Over the years the journal has published articles by some of the world’s leading political scientists, including Arend Lijphart, Samuel Huntington, and Philippe Schmitter. It has also featured important contributions from South Africa’s leading political philosophers, political scientists and international relations experts. It has proved an influential journal, particularly in debates over the merits of South Africa’s constitutional reforms (in 1983 and 1994), as well as South Africa’s negotiated settlement (1990–94). In the last few years special issues have focused on women and politics in South Africa, the state of the discipline in South Africa, and the status of the South African democracy. Recent articles have looked at the negotiated transition from apartheid to democracy, aspects of identity politics in post-apartheid South Africa and issues of democratic consolidation and quality of democracy. The journal welcomes research articles, review papers, debates and book reviews focusing on, but not limited to, South African politics and international relations. Politikon is committed to the development of and advancing quality scholarship within the field of South African politics and international relations in particularly, and more broadly, Southern Africa, Africa, and the Global South. Peer Review Statement All research articles, review papers and debate pieces in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by two referees. The Book Review Editor screens book reviews.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editor-in-chief Namhla MatshandaPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 3 (3 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences17.2%
- Legal Issues in South AfricaSocial Sciences13.2%
- International Development and AidSocial Sciences7.7%
- Political Conflict and GovernanceSocial Sciences7.1%
- Global Peace and Security DynamicsSocial Sciences5.7%
- African cultural and philosophical studiesSocial Sciences4.6%
- Historical and Contemporary Political DynamicsArts and Humanities4.6%
- African studies and sociopolitical issuesSocial Sciences3.7%
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 | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Sociology Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Sociology Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- 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
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
SCIEPublisher website
Other: African Studies Abstracts Online, America: History and Life, GEOBASE, Historical Abstracts, Index to South African Periodicals, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, International Development Abstracts, International Political Science Abstracts, Sociological Abstracts, PAIS International, Political Science and Government, Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
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
- 1.1LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.1Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 0.9Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 1.6LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.22LetPub ·
- SJR (publisher) 2025
- 0.22Publisher website ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.46LetPub ·
- SNIP (publisher) 2025
- 0.46Publisher website ·
- h-index
- 42OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 287OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.04OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 7.41%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 24LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher)
- 77,000Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,174 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 24 | 15 | 0 |
| 2025 | 32 | 10 | 32 |
| 2024 | 19 | 8 | 46 |
| 2023 | 31 | 4 | 88 |
| 2022 | 29 | 3 | 97 |
| 2021 | 39 | 5 | 239 |
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
364 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 180 days – 517 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 15 days (44 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 387 days
- Sample
- 44 articles with submission and acceptance dates (64 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".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 32 weeksLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessLetPub
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| 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)
Article types accepted4
- book reviewsThe journal welcomes research articles, review papers, debates and book reviewsLength not stated
- debatesThe journal welcomes research articles, review papers, debates and book reviewsLength not stated
- research articlesThe journal welcomes research articles, review papers, debates and book reviewsLength not stated
- review papersThe journal welcomes research articles, review papers, debates and book reviewsLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteOpen access, Peer review
- Open access Open access
Politikon 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 discoverability and readership of…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review Statement
Peer review statement Model summary
All research articles, review papers and debate pieces in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editor screening and anonymized refereeing by two referees. The Book Review Editor screens book reviews.
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
- International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS)
- Country or region
- Netherlands
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0258-9346
- Electronic ISSN
- 1470-1014
- Society / sponsor
- South African Association of Political Studies
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 53, Issue 2-3 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Politikon
What CAS zone is Politikon in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Politikon is in Zone 4 of Sociology, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Political Science. 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 Politikon?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.1; CiteScore 1.6, h-index 42.
How long does peer review take at Politikon?
Based on the dates recorded on 44 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 364 days (interquartile range 180–517 days); authors report an average review time of about 32 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 Politikon based?
Of the 3 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Politikon?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Politikon is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists SCIE; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Politikon open access, and what is the APC?
Politikon 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; 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: .