Journal rankings · indicator year 2023
Choose a field to open its ranking, or a journal to find its row in its subfield’s list.
Subfield ranking · 2023
Political Science and International Relations journal rankings 2023
334 ranked journals · Subfield in Social Sciences
Political Science and International Relations has 334 ranked journals in 2023. Its median journal scores above the world average: OJR 1.63 against 1.00, up 0.02 on 2022. A journal needs OJR 2.66 to reach Q1. The top three are Policy Reviews in Higher Education, Contemporary Security Policy, and Policy and Society.
Ranks and citation indicators: 2023. 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 2020–2022, the window the 2023 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)
334 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 2022. This is OpenJournalRank’s own count, not Clarivate’s Journal Impact Factor. | Citable documents (articles, reviews and conference papers) published in 2020–2022, the window the 2023 OJR is computed on. A journal needs at least 30 to be ranked. | Share of the journal’s 2020–2022 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 2014 to 2023. | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1Policy Reviews in Higher EducationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 11.09Q1 | 3.15 6.12 down from 2022 | 31 | 67% | — | ||
2Contemporary Security PolicyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 10.40Q1 | 7.41 3.59 down from 2022 | 69 | 65% | — | ||
3Policy and SocietyOAElsevier BV · United Kingdom | 10.05Q1 | 9.26 5.24 down from 2022 | 97 | 100% | $1,634 | ||
4Government Information QuarterlyElsevier BV · United States | 8.85Q1 | 11.92 0.33 up from 2022 | 214 | 54% | $4,360 | ||
5American Political Science ReviewCambridge University Press · United States | 8.55Q1 | 8.58 0.55 down from 2022 | 377 | 93% | $3,550 | ||
6West European PoliticsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 8.41Q1 | 7.27 0.65 down from 2022 | 193 | 90% | — | ||
7American Journal of Political ScienceWiley · United States | 7.91Q1 | 7.33 0.79 up from 2022 | 236 | 71% | $4,100 | ||
8International SecurityThe MIT Press · United States | 7.46Q1 | 5.94 0.30 down from 2022 | 75 | 85% | — | ||
9European Journal of Political ResearchOAWiley · United Kingdom | 6.84Q1 | 4.80 1.58 down from 2022 | 194 | 86% | $3,550 | ||
10Comparative Political StudiesSAGE Publishing · United States | 6.55Q1 | 6.44 0.40 down from 2022 | 223 | 65% | $3,900 | ||
11DemocratizationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 6.52Q1 | 5.36 0.78 up from 2022 | 242 | 49% | — | ||
12Hague Journal on the Rule of LawSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 6.46Q1 | 4.38 2.14 up from 2022 | 54 | 92% | $2,590 | ||
13Journal of democracyJohns Hopkins University Press · United States | 6.11Q1 | 4.88 0.47 up from 2022 | 190 | 8% | — | ||
14Higher EducationSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 5.66Q1 | 5.54 1.57 down from 2022 | 470 | 65% | $2,290 | ||
15Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational PolicyOATaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 5.65Q1 | 2.94 1.53 down from 2022 | 59 | 100% | — | ||
16Journal of European Public PolicyRoutledge · United Kingdom | 5.57Q1 | 7.03 1.22 up from 2022 | 351 | 85% | — | ||
17European Journal of International RelationsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 5.33Q1 | 3.67 1.34 down from 2022 | 132 | 98% | $3,900 | ||
18Electoral StudiesElsevier BV · Netherlands | 5.08Q1 | 4.11 0.45 up from 2022 | 296 | 60% | $2,840 | ||
19International AffairsOxford University Press · United Kingdom | 5.03Q1 | 4.18 0.16 down from 2022 | 742 | 36% | $4,936 | ||
20Police QuarterlySAGE Publishing · United States | 5.01Q1 | 4.84 0.80 up from 2022 | 73 | 42% | $3,650 | ||
21Artificial Intelligence and LawSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 5.00Q1 | 7.98 2.01 up from 2022 | 76 | 54% | $3,190 | ||
22British Journal of Political ScienceOACambridge University Press · United Kingdom | 4.98Q1 | 4.43 0.76 down from 2022 | 255 | 96% | $3,550 | ||
23Party PoliticsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 4.97Q1 | 3.19 0.04 down from 2022 | 245 | 66% | $3,650 | ||
24Political BehaviorSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 4.83Q1 | 4.22 0.24 down from 2022 | 241 | 50% | $2,990 | ||
25Policy & PoliticsPolicy Press · United Kingdom | 4.54Q1 | 6.24 0.40 up from 2022 | 76 | 71% | — | ||
26Political StudiesSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 4.54Q1 | 4.53 0.51 up from 2022 | 205 | 70% | $3,650 | ||
27South European Society & PoliticsTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 4.54Q1 | 3.50 0.62 down from 2022 | 69 | 40% | — | ||
28Political Research ExchangeOATaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 4.48Q1 | 2.00 0.86 down from 2022 | 71 | 100% | $461 | ||
29The Journal of PoliticsUniversity of Chicago Press · United States | 4.42Q1 | 4.67 0.72 up from 2022 | 413 | 24% | — | ||
30Journal of European IntegrationTaylor & Francis · Netherlands | 4.41Q1 | 3.06 1.73 down from 2022 | 191 | 68% | — | ||
31East European PoliticsRoutledge · United Kingdom | 4.36Q1 | 3.07 1.25 down from 2022 | 116 | 48% | — | ||
32Journal of European Social PolicySAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 4.33Q1 | 4.24 0.23 down from 2022 | 118 | 83% | $3,650 | ||
33Chinese Political Science ReviewSpringer Science+Business Media · Singapore | 4.23Q1 | 3.98 0.05 down from 2022 | 84 | 44% | $3,390 | ||
34Policy SciencesSpringer Science+Business Media · Netherlands | 4.16Q1 | 4.49 0.44 down from 2022 | 143 | 71% | $3,190 | ||
35Comparative European PoliticsPalgrave Macmillan · United Kingdom | 4.12Q1 | 3.65 0.77 up from 2022 | 113 | 54% | $3,290 | ||
36Philosophy & Public AffairsWiley · United States | 4.05Q1 | 4.32 1.41 up from 2022 | 54 | 69% | $3,460 | ||
37JCMS Journal of Common Market StudiesWiley · United Kingdom | 3.99Q1 | 4.13 1.09 up from 2022 | 342 | 85% | $4,170 | ||
38Comparative EducationTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 3.91Q1 | 3.10 1.34 down from 2022 | 134 | 62% | — | ||
39The British Journal of Politics and International RelationsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.82Q1 | 3.42 1.07 up from 2022 | 156 | 88% | $3,650 | ||
40European Union PoliticsSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.82Q1 | 3.56 0.45 up from 2022 | 118 | 91% | $3,650 | ||
41International Political Science ReviewSAGE Publishing · United Kingdom | 3.80Q1 | 3.86 0.16 up from 2022 | 134 | 74% | $3,650 | ||
42European Politics and SocietyTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 3.80Q1 | 3.12 0.89 up from 2022 | 149 | 42% | — | ||
43Journal of Political PhilosophyWiley · United Kingdom | 3.77Q1 | 3.78 1.49 up from 2022 | 64 | 82% | $4,030 | ||
44Policy & InternetWiley · United States | 3.68Q1 | 4.87 0.86 down from 2022 | 90 | 76% | $3,570 | ||
45Policy Studies JournalWiley · United States | 3.57Q1 | 3.88 0.42 down from 2022 | 88 | 64% | $4,050 | ||
46Journal of Contemporary ChinaRoutledge · United States | 3.50Q1 | 2.71 0.14 down from 2022 | 197 | 22% | — | ||
47Legislative Studies QuarterlyWiley · United States | 3.44Q1 | 3.29 1.41 up from 2022 | 101 | 64% | $3,190 | ||
48European SecurityTaylor & Francis · United Kingdom | 3.39Q1 | 3.97 1.36 up from 2022 | 103 | 70% | — | ||
49Cambridge yearbook of European legal studiesPublisher not listed | 3.33Q1 | 2.83 0.93 up from 2022 | 45 | 93% | $3,550 | ||
50Quarterly Journal of Political ScienceNow Publishers · United States | 3.33Q1 | 2.78 0.73 up from 2022 | 57 | 36% | — |
Subfields of Social Sciences, with Political Science and International Relations highlighted.
- Sociology and Political Science1,403
- Education732
- Political Science and International Relations334
- Communication73
- Gender Studies66
- Safety Research59
- Health55
- Transportation53
- Public Administration52
- Urban Studies52
- Linguistics and Language49
- Law45
- Library and Information Sciences41
- Demography40
- Anthropology38
- Geography, Planning and Development33
- Cultural Studies9
- Development4
- General Social Sciences4
- Human Factors and Ergonomics1
- Life-span and Life-course Studies1
- Archeology0
Journals
Citations made in 2023. Corpus-wide, 88.9% of core-journal articles and reviews published that year have at least one matched reference; the share varies by journal and field.
69 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 2020–2022, 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: 2023. Publication window: 2020–2022. How these summaries are calculated
- Ranked journals
- 334
- Window papers (baseline)
- 291,064 +10.8% from indicator year 2020
- Median OJR
- 1.63 -2.8% from indicator year 2020
- Rising journals (2025)
- 18
Window papers are the baseline paper population: citable papers (articles, reviews and conference papers) from 2020–2022 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.