Political science is the study of politics and power from domestic, international, and comparative perspectives. It involves understanding political ideas, ideologies, institutions, policies, processes, and behavior, classes, government, diplomacy, law, strategy, and war. In this article, iLovePhD presented the list of top 20 Scopus indexed journals pertaining to the field of political science. Researchers carrying out research in the areas of public administration, public policy and methodology, political theory, international relations can consider the following Scopus indexed journals for publication.
Top Political Science Scopus Indexed Journals
| Rank | Journal name | Scope of the journal | Impact factor | Link |
| 1 | American Journal of Political Science | American Journal of Political Science (AJPS) publishes research in all major areas of political science including American politics, public policy, international relations, comparative politics, political methodology, and political theory. Founded in 1956, the AJPS publishes articles that make outstanding contributions to scholarly knowledge about notable theoretical concerns, puzzles, or controversies in any subfield of political science. | 6.081 | View |
| 2 | American Political Science Review | American Political Science Review is political science’s premier scholarly research journal, providing peer-reviewed articles and review essays from subfields throughout the discipline. Areas covered include political theory, American politics, public policy, public administration, comparative politics, and international relations. | 3.316 | View |
| 3 | Journal of European Public Policy | The Journal of European Public Policy has established itself as one of the flagship journals in the study of public policy, European politics, and the EU and aims to provide a comprehensive and definitive source of analytical, theoretical, and methodological articles in these fields. Focusing on the dynamics of public policy in Europe, the journal encourages a wide range of social science approaches, both qualitative and quantitative. | 4.177 | View |
| 4 | The Journal of Politics | The Journal of Politics is a leading general-interest journal of political science and the oldest regional political science journal in the United States. The scholarship published in The Journal of Politics is theoretically innovative and methodologically diverse, and comprises a blend of the various intellectual approaches that make up the discipline. The Journal features balanced treatments of research from scholars around the world, in all subfields of political science including American politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory, and political methodology. | 3.290 | View |
| 5 | Journal of Common Market Studies | Journal of Common Market Studies (JCMS) publishes innovative peer-reviewed research on Europe and comparative regional studies. It is motivated to disseminate original, significant, and rigorous contributions to the field. JCMS is a multidisciplinary outlet that welcomes a plurality of methodological and theoretical approaches within the social sciences especially, international relations, politics, political economy, economics, law, and sociology. | 3.990 | View |
| 6 | Comparative Political Studies | Comparative Political Studies is a journal of social and political science which publishes scholarly work on comparative politics at both the cross-national and intra-national levels. We are particularly interested in articles that have an innovative theoretical argument and are based on sound and original empirical research. We also encourage submissions about comparative methodology, particularly when methodological arguments are closely linked with substantive issues in the field. | 5.143 | View |
| 7 | British Journal of Political Science | The British Journal of Political Science is a broadly based journal aiming to cover developments across a wide range of countries and specialisms. Contributions are drawn from all fields of political science including political theory, political behavior, public policy, and international relations. | 4.292 | View |
| 8 | Journal of Democracy | Journal of Democracy is an influential international forum for scholarly analysis and competing for democratic viewpoints. Its articles have been widely reprinted in many languages. Focusing exclusively on democracy, the Journal monitors and analyses democratic regimes and movements around the world. Each issue features a unique blend of scholarly analysis, reports from democratic activists, updates on news and elections, and reviews of important recent books. | 1.425 | View |
| 9 | European Journal of Political Research | European Journal of Political Research publishes original and substantial contributions to the study of comparative European politics. The journal welcomes both quantitative and qualitative approaches as well as contributions from other sub-disciplines (including international relations and political theory) and geographical areas (including North and South America) that are relevant to the comparative study of politics. Authors are strongly encouraged to reflect deeply on the broader theoretical implications of their empirical research so as to engage as broad an audience as possible. | 4.943 | View |
| 10 | West European Politics | West European Politics has established itself as one of the most authoritative journals covering politics, government, and public policy in Western Europe. Its comprehensive scope, embracing the major political developments, including the European Union, and its coverage of all national elections in Western Europe, make it essential reading for both academics and practitioners. The journal normally publishes at least two special issues per volume. | 1.464 | View |
| 11 | Annual Review of Political Science | The Annual Review of Political Science covers significant developments in the field of Political Science including political theory and philosophy, international relations, political economy, political behavior, American and comparative politics, public administration and policy, and methodology. | 8.091 | View |
| 12 | Political Behaviour | Political Behaviour publishes original research in the general fields of political behavior, institutions, processes, and policies. Coverage focuses on the conventional and unconventional political behavior of individuals or small groups, and of large organizations that participate in the political process such as parties, interest groups, political action committees, governmental agencies, and mass media. | 6.172 | View |
| 13 | Party Politics | Party Politics is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the study of this integral component within political science. This major international journal provides a forum for the analysis of political parties, including their historical development, structure, policy programs, ideology, electoral and campaign strategies, and their role within the various national and international political systems of which they are apart. | 2.829 | View |
| 14 | Political Analysis | Political Analysis publishes peer-reviewed articles that provide original and significant advances in the general area of political methodology, including both quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches. It is the official journal of the Society for Political Methodology and the Political Methodology Section of the American Political Science Association. | 3.361 | View |
| 15 | Democratization | Democratization is devoted to the study of the broad phenomenon of democratization – defined as the way democratic norms, institutions, and practices evolve and are disseminated or retracted both within and across national and cultural boundaries. The journal aims to encourage debate on the many aspects of democratization that are of interest to policy-makers, administrators and journalists, aid and development personnel, as well as all those involved in education. | 1.850 | View |
| 16 | Governance | Governance provides a forum for the theoretical and practical discussion of executive politics, public policy, administration, and the organization of the state. Published in association with the International Political Science Association’s Research Committee on the Structure & Organization of Government (SOG), it emphasizes peer-reviewed articles that take an international or comparative approach to public policy and administration. All papers, regardless of empirical focus, should have wider theoretical, comparative, or practical significance. | 3.838 | View |
| 17 | Political Studies | Political Studies is a leading international journal, which is committed to publishing high-quality research in all areas of politics and international relations. The journal publishes rigorous and original work of significance to the discipline broadly defined, and which speaks to the whole discipline. | 2.396 | View |
| 18 | Perspectives on Politics | Perspectives on Politics seek to provide a space for broad and synthetic discussion within the political science profession and between the profession and the broader scholarly and reading publics. Such discussion necessarily draws on and contributes to the scholarship published in the more specialized journals that dominate our discipline. | 3.234 | View |
| 19 | Political Science Research and Methods | Political Science Research and Methods (PSRM) is a general political science journal dedicated to publishing original scholarly work of the highest quality from all subfields of political science. The journal specifically focuses on research applying rigorous methods to empirical or theoretical problems and promotes a rigorous scientific approach to the study of politics. PSRM welcomes work at the intersection of political science and related disciplines such as economics and sociology. | 3.798 | View |
| 20 | Political Research Quarterly | Political Research Quarterly publishes scholarly research that covers the breadth of methodological approaches, theoretical perspectives, and substantive topics in the study of politics. Primary fields of research include the following areas: American Politics; Comparative Politics; Gender, Race, and Identity; International Relations; Methodology; Political Theory; Public Administration; Public Law; Public Policy. | 2.556 | View |
I hope, this article would help you to find the top Scopus indexed journals in political science.
