Journal profile
The Thinker
ISSN 2075-2458 · eISSN 2616-907X · University of Johannesburg · South Africa
The Thinker: diamond open access (no APC); no APC; review about 12 weeks (community reports); 61 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
The Thinker is published by University of Johannesburg. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are South African History and Culture, African cultural and philosophical studies and Postcolonial and Cultural Literary Studies, together about 34% of its articles. Its main subfields are Sociology and Political Science. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Thinker (a pan-African quarterly) publishes peer reviewed articles with well-constructed opinion pieces. We welcome Africa-centred articles from diverse perspectives.Online ISSN: 2616-907XPrint ISSN: 2075-2458 Find out more
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named South Africa 4 (4 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- South African History and CultureSocial Sciences13.3%
- African cultural and philosophical studiesSocial Sciences13%
- Postcolonial and Cultural Literary StudiesArts and Humanities7.8%
- International Relations and Foreign PolicySocial Sciences5.8%
- Decolonial Thought and EpistemologiesSocial Sciences5.5%
- African Studies and EthnographySocial Sciences5.3%
- African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ IssuesSocial Sciences5%
- African history and culture studiesSocial Sciences4.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
DOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
CLOCKSS, LOCKSS, PKP PNPublisher website
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
- h-index
- 8OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 6OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.43OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 344 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 24 | 24 | 90 |
| 2025 | 61 | 61 | 101 |
| 2024 | 35 | 35 | 71 |
| 2023 | 44 | 44 | 49 |
| 2022 | 50 | 50 | 37 |
| 2021 | 75 | 75 | 9 |
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
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 12 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
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
Diamond open access (no APC)DOAJ
Every article is open access and authors pay no article processing charge.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | No APC | No | CC BY | |
| LetPub | No APC | No | — |
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 accepted1
- articlespublishes peer reviewed articles with well-constructed opinion piecesLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websitePeer review
- Peer review Peer Review
Peer review available for submissions Model summary
Political Activism in Ethiopia: Historical Evolution, Contemporary Challenges, and Prospects for Democracy Teshome Abera Tessema PDF Paulo Freire: Decolonizing Research Methodologies in Community Studies Pedro Mzileni PDF Climate Refugees and Social Justice: A Case Study of South Africa – Is There Hope for Equality and Inclusion? Anslem Wongibeh Aduniamy, Betty Chiyangwa PDF The portrayal of Ubunt…
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
- University of Johannesburg
- Country or region
- South Africa
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2075-2458
- Electronic ISSN
- 2616-907X
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about The Thinker
How long does peer review take at The Thinker?
Authors report an average review time of about 12 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 The Thinker based?
Of the 4 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are South Africa (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index The Thinker?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, The Thinker is indexed in DOAJ.
Is The Thinker open access, and what is the APC?
The Thinker is a diamond open-access journal (no APC). It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, DOAJ, 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: .