Journal profile · POLITICAL SCIENCE
Scandinavian Political Studies
ISSN 0080-6757 · eISSN 1467-9477 · Wiley-Blackwell
Scandinavian Political Studies: CAS Zone 2 · Sociology (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.31; hybrid open access; APC about USD 2,950; median 246 days to acceptance (60 articles, last 24 months); acceptance rate 35% (journal website); 41 articles in 2025; indexed in SSCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Scandinavian Political Studies is published by Wiley-Blackwell 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 Electoral Systems and Political Participation, European and International Law Studies and Political Influence and Corporate Strategies, together about 40.8% of its articles. Its main subfields are Political Science and International Relations. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Scandinavian Political Studies (SPS) is the leading journal on politics and public administration in the Nordic countries, and is an indispensable source for research and teaching on Nordic politics at the national, supranational, regional and local level. Covering new scholarship in all areas of political science and public administration, the journal publishes widely on political and administrative decision-making, public policies, electoral issues, political institutions and public administration. SPS welcomes contributions that draw on Nordic data, or that have clear relevance for the politics of Nordic countries.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): POLITICAL SCIENCE
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named Sweden 3, Denmark 2, Finland 2, Norway 1 (8 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Electoral Systems and Political ParticipationSocial Sciences19.1%
- European and International Law StudiesSocial Sciences12.6%
- Political Influence and Corporate StrategiesBusiness, Management and Accounting9.1%
- Social Policy and Reform StudiesSocial Sciences8.5%
- Social Media and PoliticsSocial Sciences7.6%
- European Union Policy and GovernanceSocial Sciences6.1%
- Populism, Right-Wing MovementsSocial Sciences5.1%
- Public Policy and Administration ResearchSocial Sciences3.9%
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 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Sociology | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Political Science | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SSCIScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Current ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
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
- 1.31LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.8LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.9LetPub ·
- h-index
- 73OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 549OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 1.42OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 7.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 73.13%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 22LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 33Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 89,823Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 1,552 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 30 | 24 | 3 |
| 2025 | 41 | 27 | 50 |
| 2024 | 42 | 32 | 108 |
| 2023 | 19 | 15 | 84 |
| 2022 | 25 | 18 | 272 |
| 2021 | 33 | 22 | 429 |
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
246 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 192 days – 332 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 21 days (60 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 293 days
- Sample
- 60 articles with submission and acceptance dates (73 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
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 35%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 35%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 48 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 48 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 245 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 24 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Single-anonymous peer reviewPublisher website · model-extracted
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 2,950 / EUR 2,450 / GBP 1,980 | — | — |
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)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 9,000 words
- Reference style
- Author–date
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted3, with length limits
- book reviewandards of research. SPS also publishes Book Review of up to 1,000 words in length. The reviewed book should be of broad interest tomain text ≤ 1,000 words
- literature reviewd be in English. SPS publishes Thematic Literature Reviews of up to 3,000 words where the aim is to provide a critical overview of the 'stamain text ≤ 3,000 words
- research articleas possible. The maximum word limit for Research Articles is 9000 words, which includes tables, notes and references. In addition tmain text ≤ 9,000 words
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteLicense & copyright, Open access
- License & copyright Copyright Transfer Agreement
If your paper is accepted, the author identified as the formal corresponding author for the paper will receive an email prompting them to login into Author Services; where via the Wiley Author Licensing Service (WALS) they will be able to complete the license agreement on behalf of all authors on the paper.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access For authors choosing Open Access
If the Open Access option is selected the corresponding author will have a choice of the following Creative Commons License Open Access Agreements (OAA):
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
- Wiley-Blackwell
- ISSN
- 0080-6757
- Electronic ISSN
- 1467-9477
- Society / sponsor
- Nordic Political Science Association
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 49, Issue 4 (November 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Scandinavian Political Studies
What CAS zone is Scandinavian Political Studies in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Scandinavian Political Studies 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 Scandinavian Political Studies?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.31; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 73.
How long does peer review take at Scandinavian Political Studies?
Based on the dates recorded on 60 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 246 days (interquartile range 192–332 days); the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 35% (2025). 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 are the manuscript requirements of Scandinavian Political Studies?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Manuscript length: ≤ 9,000 words; Reference style: Author–date; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Scandinavian Political Studies based?
Of the 8 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Sweden (3), Denmark (2) and Finland (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Scandinavian Political Studies?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Scandinavian Political Studies is indexed in SSCI and Scopus. The journal's website also lists Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Scandinavian Political Studies open access, and what is the APC?
Scandinavian Political Studies is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 2,950.
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: .