Journal rankings · indicator year 2009
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2009
Political Science and International Relations journal rankings 2009
260 ranked journals · Subfield in Social Sciences
Political Science and International Relations has 260 ranked journals in 2009. The median OJR rose 0.08 on 2008 to 1.68, above the world average of 1.00; Q1 starts at OJR 3.33. The top three are American Journal of Political Science, Journal of European Public Policy, and International Security.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2009. Journal access status and listed APC: source snapshot September 23, 2026.
Journals whose main subfield sits in this category and that published at least 30 citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) in 2006–2008, the window the 2009 score is computed on.
The OpenJournalRank Indicator (OJR) is a free, publicly available metric of a journal’s field-normalized citation impact, computed from open OpenAlex citation data. It compares citations to a journal’s papers from the previous three years with the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and values can be compared across fields. It is computed with the NCI3 method.
The middle OJR among ranked journals in this category: half score higher, half lower. 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type.
The dot is this category, the solid tick is the median of all ranked journals and the dashed line is the world average.
Share of ranked journals in this category that are fully open access, so every paper is free to read. Hybrid journals, which sell subscriptions and open single papers for a fee, are not counted.
Median list price of the article processing charge, in US dollars, among ranked journals in this category that list a price above zero. Journals with a listed APC of $0 and journals with no known price are left out of this median. The At a glance table below gives a second median that includes the $0 prices.
Subfields of Social Sciences (22)
260 ranked journals
Filters
Rank is the position by OJR within the list on screen; 1 is the highest. | OJR is field-normalized 3-year citation impact: 1.00 is the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so values compare across fields. The badge is the journal’s quartile in this list. | Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is not field-normalized, so compare it only between journals of the same field. ▲ or ▼ is the change from 2008. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2006–2008, the window the 2009 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2006–2008 papers that are free to read in any open-access form. The green OA tag next to a title marks a fully open-access journal. | List price of the article processing charge in US dollars. “$0 listed” means the listed price is zero; a dash means no price is listed. | The line is the journal’s OJR from 2000 to 2009. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1American Journal of Political ScienceWiley · United States | 14.31Q1 | 4.07 0.37 down from 2008 | 185 | 15% | $4,100 | ||
2Journal of European Public PolicyRoutledge · United Kingdom | 12.15Q1 | 3.44 0.34 up from 2008 | 218 | 22% | — | ||
3International SecurityThe MIT Press · United States | 12.12Q1 | 2.86 0.57 down from 2008 | 94 | 12% | — | ||
4European Law JournalWiley · United Kingdom | 11.25Q1 | 3.91 2.36 up from 2008 | 158 | 7% | $3,570 | ||
5European Union PoliticsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 10.54Q1 | 3.67 0.71 up from 2008 | 76 | 15% | $3,650 | ||
6West European PoliticsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 10.30Q1 | 3.45 1.14 up from 2008 | 202 | 23% | — | ||
7Foreign AffairsCouncil on Foreign Relations · United States | 10.19Q1 | 2.40 1.71 down from 2008 | 485 | 0% | — | ||
8American Political Science ReviewCambridge University Press · United States | 10.11Q1 | 4.03 0.78 up from 2008 | 179 | 19% | $3,550 | ||
9Political AnalysisCambridge University Press · United States | 9.89Q1 | 3.77 0.42 up from 2008 | 93 | 29% | $3,550 | ||
10European Journal of International RelationsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 9.83Q1 | 2.47 0.37 down from 2008 | 67 | 24% | $3,900 | ||
11Journal of European Social PolicySAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 9.49Q1 | 2.84 0.69 down from 2008 | 82 | 14% | $3,650 | ||
12Comparative Political StudiesSAGE Publishing · United States | 8.99Q1 | 2.69 0.08 up from 2008 | 181 | 6% | $3,900 | ||
13JCMS Journal of Common Market StudiesWiley · United Kingdom | 8.72Q1 | 1.93 0.51 down from 2008 | 284 | 17% | $4,170 | ||
14British Journal of Political ScienceOACambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 8.37Q1 | 2.72 0.34 up from 2008 | 115 | 29% | $3,550 | ||
15Scandinavian Political StudiesWiley · United Kingdom | 8.28Q1 | 3.15 0.12 up from 2008 | 82 | 5% | $2,950 | ||
16Journal of Political PhilosophyWiley · United Kingdom | 7.97Q1 | 1.15 1.51 down from 2008 | 93 | 17% | $4,030 | ||
17Journal of European IntegrationTaylor & Francis · Netherlands | 7.59Q1 | 2.42 1.24 up from 2008 | 105 | 17% | — | ||
18Philosophy & Public AffairsWiley · United States | 7.35Q1 | 1.29 0.34 down from 2008 | 69 | 4% | $3,460 | ||
19Public Opinion QuarterlyOxford University Press · United States | 7.14Q1 | 2.72 0.14 up from 2008 | 182 | 14% | $3,969 | ||
20European Foreign Affairs ReviewSpringer Nature · Netherlands | 6.93Q1 | 1.80 0.50 down from 2008 | 87 | 13% | — | ||
21Comparative European PoliticsPalgrave Macmillan · United Kingdom | 6.40Q1 | 2.37 0.81 up from 2008 | 66 | 8% | $3,290 | ||
22Quarterly Journal of Political ScienceNow Publishers · United States | 6.23Q1 | 2.38 0.05 down from 2008 | 51 | 18% | — | ||
23World Trade ReviewCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 6.21Q1 | 2.84 1.74 up from 2008 | 112 | 50% | $3,550 | ||
24Higher Education PolicyPalgrave Macmillan · United Kingdom | 6.14Q1 | 2.63 1.71 up from 2008 | 93 | 37% | $2,690 | ||
25Journal of Education PolicyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 6.14Q1 | 2.51 0.14 up from 2008 | 123 | 16% | — | ||
26Government and OppositionOACambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 5.99Q1 | 1.95 0.52 up from 2008 | 84 | 19% | $3,550 | ||
27Journal of democracyJohns Hopkins University Press · United States | 5.98Q1 | 1.68 0.10 down from 2008 | 230 | 3% | — | ||
28Party PoliticsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 5.84Q1 | 1.74 0.01 down from 2008 | 108 | 8% | $3,650 | ||
29International Relations of the Asia-PacificOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 5.80Q1 | 2.09 0.70 up from 2008 | 65 | 0% | $3,571 | ||
30International AffairsOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 5.74Q1 | 1.59 0.08 up from 2008 | 211 | 5% | $4,936 | ||
31The Journal of PoliticsUniversity of Chicago Press · United States | 5.59Q1 | 1.76 0.27 up from 2008 | 340 | 8% | — | ||
32European Journal of Political ResearchOAWiley · United Kingdom | 5.39Q1 | 1.79 0.01 down from 2008 | 232 | 13% | $3,550 | ||
33The China QuarterlyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 5.37Q1 | 2.14 0.46 up from 2008 | 141 | 13% | $3,550 | ||
34Foreign Policy AnalysisOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 5.28Q1 | 1.03 0.62 down from 2008 | 59 | 9% | $4,320 | ||
35Comparative EducationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 5.27Q1 | 1.84 0.35 up from 2008 | 97 | 17% | — | ||
36Journal of Public PolicyOACambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 5.24Q1 | 2.70 0.86 up from 2008 | 45 | 35% | $3,550 | ||
37Government Information QuarterlyElsevier BV · United States | 5.24Q1 | 2.38 0.12 down from 2008 | 205 | 5% | $4,360 | ||
38Acta PoliticaPalgrave Macmillan · United Kingdom | 5.20Q1 | 1.64 0.28 up from 2008 | 106 | 13% | $3,190 | ||
39GovernanceWiley · United Kingdom | 5.19Q1 | 2.03 0.20 up from 2008 | 132 | 11% | $3,730 | ||
40Political StudiesSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 5.11Q1 | 1.94 0.46 down from 2008 | 162 | 10% | $3,650 | ||
41Security StudiesTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 5.00Q1 | 1.04 0.12 down from 2008 | 67 | 15% | — | ||
42Leiden Journal of International LawOACambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 4.66Q1 | 1.29 1.04 up from 2008 | 152 | 33% | $3,550 | ||
43Journal of Social PolicyCambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 4.31Q1 | 1.70 0.07 up from 2008 | 126 | 17% | $3,550 | ||
44DemocratizationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 4.22Q1 | 1.24 0.13 up from 2008 | 121 | 7% | — | ||
45Higher EducationSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 4.20Q1 | 1.68 0.06 down from 2008 | 284 | 21% | $2,290 | ||
46Global Governance A Review of Multilateralism and International OrganizationsLynne Rienner Publishers · Netherlands | 4.19Q1 | 1.40 0.65 up from 2008 | 106 | 0% | — | ||
47Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis Research and PracticeRoutledge · Netherlands | 4.08Q1 | 1.90 0.57 up from 2008 | 78 | 3% | — | ||
48Studies in Comparative International DevelopmentSpringer Science+Business Media · United States | 4.04Q1 | 1.53 0.50 up from 2008 | 57 | 28% | $3,390 | ||
49Social Policy and AdministrationWiley · United Kingdom | 3.94Q1 | 1.80 0.06 down from 2008 | 159 | 11% | $4,330 | ||
50Higher Education QuarterlyWiley · United Kingdom | 3.90Q1 | 1.38 0.42 down from 2008 | 99 | 15% | $2,900 |
Subfields of Social Sciences, with Political Science and International Relations highlighted.
- Sociology and Political Science899
- Education464
- Political Science and International Relations260
- Gender Studies50
- Communication48
- Public Administration48
- Safety Research39
- Linguistics and Language38
- Health36
- Library and Information Sciences36
- Anthropology35
- Law34
- Transportation33
- Demography29
- Urban Studies28
- Geography, Planning and Development18
- Cultural Studies9
- Development3
- General Social Sciences3
- Human Factors and Ergonomics1
- Archeology0
- Life-span and Life-course Studies0
Journals
Citations made in 2009. Corpus-wide, 71.4% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
78 additional Political Science and International Relations journals with metrics are unranked under this release’s eligibility rules: a journal needs at least 30 citable documents in 2006–2008, at least 80% of them with a subfield, and a positive world-average expectation. Ranks are within the whole category; filters hide rows without re-ranking. OJR excludes self-citations.
At a glance
Indicator year: 2009. Publication window: 2006–2008. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 260
- Window papers (baseline)
- 159,463 +21.8% from indicator year 2006
- Median OJR
- 1.68 +32.3% from indicator year 2006
- Rising journals (2025)
- 18
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2006–2008 in all journals of the world-average baseline, including non-core journals, counted by each paper’s own subfield. They are not the papers of the ranked journals alone.
| Measure | Year series | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ranked journals | 185 | 187 | 198 | 211 | 222 | 236 | 243 | 248 | 255 | 260 | 270 | 279 | 287 | 287 | 294 | 301 | 308 | 318 | 321 | 326 | 332 | 333 | 339 | 334 | 334 | 322 | |
| Window papers (baseline) | 87,090 | 92,551 | 99,427 | 106,761 | 113,825 | 122,173 | 130,947 | 139,764 | 148,869 | 159,463 | 170,900 | 180,910 | 191,534 | 201,200 | 210,369 | 223,416 | 235,982 | 245,820 | 247,938 | 251,957 | 262,579 | 278,323 | 289,523 | 291,064 | 289,519 | 294,162 | |
| Median OJR | 0.81 | 0.99 | 0.90 | 1.09 | 1.12 | 1.31 | 1.27 | 1.42 | 1.603 | 1.68 | 1.77 | 1.74 | 1.73 | 1.78 | 1.69 | 1.83 | 1.92 | 1.87 | 1.723 | 1.85 | 1.67 | 1.71 | 1.602 | 1.63 | 1.52 | 1.718 |
How to read these rankings
- OJR, the OpenJournalRank Indicator
- A field-normalized 3-year citation impact, computed from OpenAlex with the NCI3 method. It divides the citations a journal’s papers received by the world average for papers of the same subfield, year and type, so 1.00 is the world average and 2.00 means twice as many citations as expected. Because it is normalized, it can be compared across fields. Read the methodology
- Quartiles
- Q1 to Q4 split the ranked journals of the list you are viewing into four equal groups by OJR. A journal’s quartile depends on the list: the same journal can be Q1 in its subfield and Q2 among all journals.
- Impact factor (2-year)
- Citations per paper over a two-year window, counted from OpenAlex. It is easy to compare with familiar impact factors but is not field-normalized, so compare it only within a field. It is not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. Why it differs from the Journal Impact Factor
- Rank ranges
- Each rank in the latest year carries a likely range from 1,000 resamples of the journal’s papers. Where two journals’ ranges overlap, the data cannot tell them apart, so treat neighbouring ranks as ties.