ImpaQ Ecosystem•Clarivate, Scopus & CORE Data
Clarivate WoS 2024 / 2025 Data
IMPAQ
WoS ESCI Q2Scopus Q1SCImago #12,223Diamond OAGold OA

Democratic Theory-An Interdisciplinary Journal

Identifier (ISSN):2332-8894(Print)/2332-8908(Online)
•
Publisher:Berghahn
Clarivate JCR Index Advisory: Active (ESCI)
Clarivate IF (2026)
1.5↑ +0.6
Journal Impact Factor
IF Trend↓
WoS Quartile
Q2
WoS ESCIJCR Quartile
Clarivate WoS JCR
WoS Categories↓
JCR Release Date: 2026-06-17

Impact Factor Trend (2023–2026)

Clarivate IF trend for Democratic Theory-An Interdisciplinary Journal

WoS Q2
01342.920230.820240.920251.52026
Annual Impact Factor Metric
Current (2026):1.5
Scopus SJR & RankScopus Q1
0.484
#12,223

SCImago Journal Rank citation prestige weighting

Scopus Year: 2025
H-Index (2025)
17

17 papers with at least that number of citations each

WoS: ESCIQ2
Self-Citation Rate12.5%
Safe Level (< 15%)Warning Level (> 20%)
Self-citation below 15% indicates strong scholarly independence.
Volume & Open AccessGold OA
10articles/year
100% Gold OA•83.33% Original Research

Aims & Scope

Democratic Theory is a peer-reviewed journal published and distributed by Berghahn. It encourages philosophical and interdisciplinary contributions that critically explore democratic theory—in all its forms. Spanning a range of views, the journal offers a cross-disciplinary forum for diverse theoretical questions to be put forward and systematically examined. It advances non-Western as well as Western ideas and is actively based on the premise that there are many forms of democracies and many types of democrats. As a forum for debate, the journal challenges theorists to ask and answer the perennial questions that plague the field of democratization studies: Why is democracy so prominent in the world today? What is the meaning of democracy? Will democracy continue to expand? Are current forms of democracy sufficient to give voice to “the people” in an increasingly fragmented and divided world? Who leads in democracy? What types of non-Western democratic theories are there? Should democrats always defend democracy? Should democrats be fearful of de-democratization, post-democracies, and the rise of hybridized regimes?

Topics Covered (Recognized by AI)
Political science92.2%Law89.2%Politics86.1%Sociology75.3%Democracy74.1%Economics60.2%Philosophy56%Epistemology41%Computer science36.7%Political economy36.7%Biology21.7%Psychology21.1%
Primary Research Areas

WoS Categories & Quartiles

Detailed JCR / JCI category rankings and quartile breakdown from Clarivate

Clarivate JCR & JCI
JCRESCI2026

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Q2
Rank163/332
IndexESCI
JCIESCI2026

POLITICAL SCIENCE

Q3
Rank211/332
IndexESCI

Annual Historical Statistics & Publications

Track annual publication volume, total citations, and Impact Factor evolution

12 year
2026Latest
IF1.5
Articles / Year34
Total Citations6
2025
IF0.9
Articles / Year12
Total Citations5
2024
IF0.8
Articles / Year16
Total Citations44
2023
IF2.9
Articles / Year16
Total Citations54
2022
IF—
Articles / Year23
Total Citations92

SCImago & Scopus Journal Intelligence

Global SCImago ranking, SJR prestige index, Scopus coverage, and societal policy impact

Rank #12,223Scopus Q1Diamond OASCImago Profile
Scopus Coverage:2014-2025
Scopus Broad Areas:Arts and HumanitiesSocial Sciences
Scopus Citation Rank (SJR)Q1
0.484

Weighted prestige citation metric per document indexed in the Scopus database.

Quartile: Scopus Q1
Citations / Doc (2 years)
1.33

Average citations received per document published in the 2-year window.

2-Year Citation Window
Estimated Publication Fee (APC)
100% Free

Diamond Open Access: Authors publish completely free of charge with zero author-facing fees.

Diamond Open Access

Scopus 3-Year Publication & Citation Window

3-Year Citations81
3-Year Documents45
Citable Documents43

Aggregated from Scopus database across the 3-year SJR evaluation window.

Societal Impact & Inclusivity (SCImago)

Policy Citations (Overton)0

Citations in government and international policy documents

Female Author Rate63.6%

Percentage of female authors published in the journal

Real-world societal policy reach and author gender diversity tracked by SCImago.

Scopus Subject Categories

PhilosophyQ1
Sociology and Political ScienceQ2
Academic Metric Intelligence

Journal Metrics & Citation Visualizations

Total Cites vs Self-Cites

Evaluation of scholarly independence and citation reach

Total citations steady growth
Self-citation: 12.5%

Citations per Document

Citation metric windows across 2, 3, and 4 years

Cites / Doc (4 years)Cites / Doc (3 years)Cites / Doc (2 years)

Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Classification

Major / minor zone classification and CAS Early Warning List history

Major Category (Broad Field):
2区 (Zone 2)Sociology
Minor Category (Specific Field):
3区POLITICAL SCIENCE
CAS Early Warning List History:
Updated annually: 2020 – 2024
2020
Not warned
2021
Not warned
2022
Not warned
2023
Not warned
2024
Not warned

Academic Intelligence Overview & Context

ImpaQ Analysis

Democratic Theory-An Interdisciplinary Journal (ISSN: 2332-8894) is a peer-reviewed international scholarly journal in the field of POLITICAL SCIENCE, published by Berghahn in United States. The periodical holds a Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of 1.50, ranking in quartile Q2 of Web of Science (ESCI), a Scopus SJR indicator of 0.484 (Q1), an H-index of 17.

The journal enforces rigorous peer evaluation with an annual output of approximately 10 scientific articles. In terms of accessibility and author fees, it operates under the Gold OA model with Diamond Open Access (100% free of author APC charges). It serves as a benchmark publication platform for academics, researchers, and doctoral candidates seeking global research visibility.

Publishing & Editorial Information

Detailed publisher, peer-review turnaround, and publication cycle specifications

Open Access Model
Gold OA
Publisher
Berghahn
Publication Language
English
Frequency
Periodic
Indexing & Databases
ESCIScopusPubMed

Similar Journals in Discipline

Journals in the same research field with comparable impact metrics

Record UUID: 6289f079-c5c8-4b21-9c38-83ccddeb5abf
Database Updated: 2026-10-01