Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to the Indonesian Journal of Political Studies undergo a rigorous, transparent, and objective peer review process to ensure academic quality, originality, relevance, and compliance with the journal’s focus and scope. The journal applies a double-blind peer review system, in which the identities of both authors and reviewers are concealed throughout the review process.

1. Initial Submission and Desk Review

Upon submission, each manuscript is first evaluated by the Editorial Board through a desk review process. At this stage, the manuscript is assessed for:

• compliance with the journal’s author guidelines and formatting requirements;
• relevance to the journal’s aims, focus, and scope;
• originality and potential scholarly contribution;
• minimum standards of academic quality and ethical compliance.

Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria may be:

• returned to the author for preliminary revision, or
• rejected without external peer review.

Only manuscripts that successfully pass the desk review will proceed to the peer review stage.

2. Double-Blind Peer Review

Manuscripts that pass the desk review are assigned to two independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the field. Reviewers are selected based on their academic background, publication record, and subject relevance.

The review process is conducted under a double-blind system, ensuring that:

• reviewers do not know the identity of the author(s);
• author(s) do not know the identity of the reviewers.

The peer review process generally takes up to three weeks, depending on reviewer availability.

3. Review Criteria

Reviewers evaluate manuscripts based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:

• originality and contribution to political studies;
• clarity and relevance of research objectives;
• adequacy of theoretical framework and literature review;
• methodological rigor and data analysis;
• coherence of argumentation and conclusions;
• quality of writing and academic presentation.

Reviewers provide constructive comments and recommendations for improvement.

4. Editorial Decision

Based on the reviewers’ reports, the Editorial Board will make one of the following decisions:

• Accepted
  The manuscript is accepted for publication without revision.
• Accepted with Minor Revisions
  The manuscript requires minor revisions (e.g., clarity, structure, or minor methodological issues) before acceptance.
• Accepted with Major Revisions
  The manuscript requires substantial revisions (e.g., theoretical framework, data analysis, or overall structure) and must be resubmitted for further evaluation.
• Rejected
  The manuscript is not suitable for publication due to fundamental academic or methodological issues.

The final decision rests with the Editorial Board, taking into account the reviewers’ recommendations.

5. Revision Stage

Authors are required to revise their manuscripts according to the reviewers’ and editors’ comments:

• Minor revisions: authors are given one (1) week to revise and resubmit.
• Major revisions: authors are given three (3) weeks to revise and resubmit.

Authors must submit:

• the revised manuscript, and
• a response-to-reviewers document detailing how each comment has been addressed.

Failure to resubmit within the specified timeframe may result in rejection.

6. Final Evaluation and Decision

The revised manuscript is re-evaluated by the Editorial Board and, if necessary, by the original reviewers. If the revisions are considered satisfactory, the manuscript will be accepted. If the revisions are inadequate or the reviewers’ concerns are not properly addressed, the manuscript may still be rejected at this stage.

7. Proofreading and Copyediting

Accepted manuscripts undergo proofreading and copyediting to ensure:

• linguistic accuracy,
• clarity and consistency of academic writing,
• compliance with the journal’s formatting and style guidelines.

Authors may be contacted during this stage for clarification if necessary.

8. Publication Confirmation

The final layout (galley proof) of the manuscript is sent to the author(s) for approval. At this stage, authors may only correct typographical or minor formatting errors. Substantive changes are not permitted.

Upon final approval, the manuscript is scheduled for online and (if applicable) print publication by the Editorial Office of the Indonesian Journal of Political Studies.