About the Journal

Journal of Political and Development Issues is a scholarly journal that publishes original research articles, conceptual studies, and critical reviews concerning the relationship between politics, governance, public policy, and development.

The journal is founded on the view that development is not merely an economic or administrative process, nor simply the provision of infrastructure. Rather, development is a political process involving power relations, decision-making, resource distribution, competing interests, public participation, and interactions among the state, the market, and civil society.

The journal primarily addresses issues related to development politics, governance, public policy implementation, social and regional inequalities, local development, rural and borderland development, democracy, citizenship, political participation, and inclusive and equitable development.

More specifically, the Journal of Political and Development Issues accepts articles in the following fields:

  1. Development politics and political economy;

  2. Governance and public policy;

  3. Local, rural, and borderland development;

  4. Democracy, citizenship, and political participation; and

  5. Identity politics, social justice, and inclusive development.

The journal prioritises articles that explain how political institutions, government policies, power relations, and public participation influence development processes, implementation, and outcomes. Studies may be conducted at the local, national, regional, or comparative level, with particular attention to rural communities, border regions, disadvantaged areas, marginalised groups, and Indigenous peoples.

Through the publication of research-based scholarship and critical analysis, the journal aims to serve as an academic platform for advancing political science and development studies. It also seeks to encourage ideas and policy recommendations that promote democratic, participatory, inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development governance.

Peer Review Process

Every manuscript submitted to the Journal of Political and Development Issues undergoes an initial editorial screening and peer-review process to ensure its academic quality, relevance, originality, and conformity with the journal’s focus and scope.

The journal applies a double-blind peer-review system, in which the identities of authors and reviewers remain concealed from one another throughout the review process. Every manuscript that passes the initial screening will be reviewed by at least two reviewers with expertise relevant to the manuscript’s subject.

Stages of the Review Process

1. Initial Editorial Screening

The editor examines the administrative completeness of the submission, conformity with the journal’s formatting requirements, article structure, language quality, and relevance to the journal’s focus and scope.

Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s basic requirements may be returned to the authors for correction or rejected without proceeding to peer review.

2. Originality and Similarity Check

The manuscript will be examined using similarity-detection software to ensure that it does not contain plagiarism, duplicate publication, or the use of sources without proper acknowledgement.

3. Appointment of Reviewers

The editor appoints at least two reviewers who possess appropriate expertise and competence in the subject of the article.

Reviewers must conduct their assessments independently and objectively, maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript, and disclose any potential conflicts of interest involving the authors or the submitted work.

4. Peer-Review Process

Reviewers evaluate the manuscript according to the following criteria:

  • Relevance to the journal’s focus and scope;

  • Originality and novelty of the research;

  • Clarity of the research problem, objectives, and arguments;

  • Appropriateness of the theoretical and conceptual framework;

  • Suitability of the research methodology;

  • Quality of the analysis and discussion;

  • Consistency between the research findings and conclusions;

  • Relevance and currency of the references; and

  • Contribution to political science and development studies.

5. Review Decision

Based on the reviewers’ recommendations, the editor may issue one of the following decisions:

  • Accepted without revision;

  • Accepted with minor revisions;

  • Reconsidered after major revisions;

  • Resubmitted for another round of review; or

  • Rejected.

6. Revision by the Authors

Authors must revise their manuscripts in accordance with the comments and recommendations provided by the reviewers.

The revised manuscript must be accompanied by a detailed response to each reviewer comment. Authors should explain the changes made or provide an academic justification when a recommendation cannot be implemented.

7. Re-review

A manuscript requiring major revisions may be returned to the reviewers to determine whether the authors have adequately addressed the substantive issues.

The manuscript may undergo more than one round of review when significant academic concerns remain unresolved.

8. Final Decision

The final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of an article rests with the Editor-in-Chief or the assigned editor.

The decision is based on the peer-review reports, the quality of the authors’ revisions, the journal’s academic standards, and its editorial policies.

9. Editing and Publication

An accepted manuscript proceeds to substantive editing, language editing, reference checking, layout preparation, and final proofreading by the authors before publication.

Review Period

The peer-review process generally takes approximately four to eight weeks, depending on reviewer availability, the extent of the revisions required, and the time taken by the authors to submit the revised manuscript.

Confidentiality and Conflicts of Interest

All manuscripts, research data, reviewer comments, and communications generated during the review process are confidential.

Editors and reviewers must not use information contained in an unpublished manuscript for personal benefit or for the benefit of another party.

Reviewers must withdraw from the review process if they have personal, professional, institutional, financial, or other interests that may compromise the objectivity of their assessment.

Editorial Independence

Publication decisions are based exclusively on the manuscript’s scientific quality, originality, relevance, and academic contribution.

Editorial decisions are not influenced by the authors’ institutional affiliation, nationality, ethnicity, gender, religion, political identity, or other personal characteristics.

Publication Frequency

The journal is published three times a year, in May and November.

E-ISSN: 3109-1253

Open Access Policy

All content published in the Journal of Political and Development Issues (JPDI) is freely accessible to the public.

The journal applies the principle that providing free and immediate access to research findings supports the wider dissemination of knowledge and promotes the global exchange of scholarly information.

Readers may access, read, and download published articles without subscription or access fees, subject to the copyright and licensing policies applied by the journal.