International Quarterly of Foreign Relations

Editorial Policy

The International Quarterly of Foreign Relations is committed to publishing original, rigorous, and innovative research that advances scholarly understanding in the fields of international relations, foreign policy, international security, international political economy, strategic studies, international law, regional studies, and related interdisciplinary areas.

Submitted manuscripts are expected to make a significant contribution to the existing literature through theoretical innovation, methodological originality, novel empirical findings, or fresh interpretations of contemporary international affairs. Manuscripts that merely summarize existing scholarship or lack originality in terms of research question, methodology, approach, or findings will not be considered for publication.

The journal adheres to the principles of editorial independence, academic integrity, and research ethics and conducts all evaluations in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Submission Requirements

Manuscripts must be submitted exclusively through the journal's online submission system. Submissions sent by email or through any other channel will not enter the review process.

Authors are required to upload two separate files:

• An anonymized manuscript containing the full text without any identifying information;
• A title page including the authors' names, institutional affiliations, academic positions, contact information, and ORCID identifiers (where available).

Submitted manuscripts must not have been published previously and may not be simultaneously under review by another journal. Duplicate submission constitutes grounds for immediate rejection.

If any part of the manuscript, including an abstract or conference presentation, has been published previously in another language or venue, the corresponding author must inform the Editor-in-Chief in writing and provide all relevant documentation and permissions.

Research supported by governmental agencies, universities, research institutes, or external funding bodies must include complete funding information and, where applicable, the grant identification number.

For manuscripts derived from doctoral dissertations, the doctoral candidate should be listed as the first author, while the supervisor is normally identified as the corresponding author.

Review articles are accepted only from scholars with recognized expertise and substantial publications in the relevant field.

 

Initial Editorial Screening (One to Two Weeks)

Following submission, manuscripts undergo an initial editorial assessment conducted by the journal's editorial office.

At this stage, manuscripts are evaluated for:

• compliance with the journal's formatting requirements;
• relevance to the aims and scope of the journal;
• originality and scholarly contribution;
• methodological soundness;
• use of recent and authoritative sources;
• clarity of argument and academic quality.

All manuscripts that pass the technical screening are subjected to plagiarism and similarity checks using recognized similarity-detection software.

Manuscripts exhibiting substantial textual overlap, plagiarism, or ethical concerns will be rejected without external review.

Following the initial screening, the Editor-in-Chief and the Section Editor assess whether the manuscript meets the journal's academic standards and is suitable for peer review.

 

Double-Blind Peer Review

The International Quarterly of Foreign Relations employs a rigorous double-blind peer-review process, in which neither the authors nor the reviewers are informed of each other's identities.

Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent experts in the relevant field. Depending on the nature of the manuscript, additional reviewers—including methodological or statistical reviewers—may also be invited.

Reviewers are asked to assess manuscripts according to the following criteria:

• originality and significance of the research question;
• theoretical contribution;
• methodological rigor;
• quality and adequacy of evidence;
• analytical depth;
• engagement with relevant literature;
• policy relevance and practical implications;
• clarity of presentation and organization.

The average review period ranges from two to four months.

 

Editorial Decisions

Based on the reviewers' reports, one of the following decisions will be reached:

Acceptance without revision

The manuscript is accepted for publication in its current form.

Minor revision

The manuscript is accepted subject to minor revisions recommended by reviewers or editors.

Major revision

The manuscript demonstrates scholarly potential but requires substantial revision before a final decision can be made.

Rejection

The manuscript does not meet the journal's academic standards or falls outside the journal's scope.

As a general principle:

• manuscripts rejected by two reviewers will be rejected;
• manuscripts receiving conflicting evaluations may be referred to an additional reviewer, the Section Editor, or the Editor-in-Chief for further assessment;
• manuscripts requiring major revisions will undergo an additional round of review after resubmission.

The reviewers' recommendations are advisory in nature. The final decision regarding publication rests exclusively with the Editorial Board.

 

Revision Procedure

Authors receiving revision requests are expected to submit:

1. a revised version of the manuscript with all changes clearly highlighted;
2. a detailed response letter addressing each reviewer comment individually.

Revised manuscripts that do not adequately address reviewers' comments may be removed from the review process.

Authors are normally given:

• up to one month to submit major revisions;
• a shorter period for minor revisions and final corrections.

Failure to respond within the specified timeframe may be interpreted as withdrawal from the review process.

 

Reviewer Management

Reviewers receive regular reminders regarding pending reviews. If a reviewer fails to submit a report within the agreed period, the manuscript may be reassigned to another reviewer in order to ensure the timely completion of the review process.

All reviewers are expected to maintain confidentiality, avoid conflicts of interest, and comply with internationally accepted standards of publication ethics.

 

Final Editorial Decision

After completion of the peer-review process and evaluation of the revised manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board make the final publication decision.

The Editorial Board considers:

• reviewers' recommendations;
• the quality of revisions;
• methodological and theoretical contributions;
• compliance with ethical standards;
• the overall scholarly value of the manuscript.

Acceptance of a revised manuscript is not guaranteed until the Editorial Board formally approves the final version.

 

Copyediting and Production

Accepted manuscripts undergo professional copyediting and technical editing before publication.

The editorial team reviews manuscripts for:

• linguistic accuracy and readability;
• consistency of style and terminology;
• citation and reference accuracy;
• compliance with APA (7th edition);
• scientific integrity and documentary evidence.

The edited manuscript is returned to the authors for final approval before typesetting and publication.

Articles are published according to the journal's publication schedule and production capacity.

 

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

The International Quarterly of Foreign Relations is committed to maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity, transparency, and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing. The journal follows the principles and best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expects all participants in the publication process—including authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Board—to adhere to these principles.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are expected to:

• submit original and unpublished work;
• ensure that the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal;
• provide accurate and reliable data and evidence;
• properly acknowledge all sources and references;
• obtain the necessary permissions for copyrighted materials;
• disclose all sources of funding and potential conflicts of interest;
• ensure that all listed authors have made substantial scholarly contributions to the research;
• avoid plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication, data falsification, and inappropriate authorship practices.

The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the consent of all co-authors before submission.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers are expected to:

• evaluate manuscripts objectively, fairly, and confidentially;
• provide constructive and evidence-based comments;
• refrain from using unpublished information for personal benefit;
• disclose any conflict of interest that may affect their judgment;
• notify the editors of any suspected ethical misconduct, plagiarism, or substantial overlap with previously published work.

Responsibilities of Editors

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for:

• making editorial decisions solely on the basis of academic merit, originality, and relevance to the journal's scope;
• ensuring a fair and impartial review process;
• preserving reviewer anonymity in the double-blind review system;
• protecting the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts;
• taking appropriate action in cases of ethical misconduct.

Editorial decisions are independent of the authors' nationality, institutional affiliation, gender, religion, or political views.

Research Misconduct

The journal considers the following practices to constitute research misconduct:

• plagiarism;
• self-plagiarism;
• duplicate submission;
• redundant publication;
• data fabrication;
• data falsification;
• citation manipulation;
• undisclosed use of artificial intelligence in generating research findings;
• guest, honorary, or ghost authorship.

In cases of suspected misconduct, the journal reserves the right to reject the manuscript, retract published articles, notify relevant institutions, and take any additional measures deemed necessary.

Corrections and Retractions

When substantial errors or ethical violations are identified after publication, the journal may publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction notices in accordance with internationally accepted publishing standards.

 

Conflict of Interest Policy

The International Quarterly of Foreign Relations is committed to ensuring that all editorial decisions are made in an objective and transparent manner. Authors, reviewers, editors, and members of the Editorial Board are required to disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could influence the evaluation, publication, or interpretation of scholarly work.

Authors

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their research.

Potential conflicts of interest may include, but are not limited to:

• research grants or financial support;
• employment or consultancy relationships;
• institutional affiliations;
• political or ideological commitments directly related to the research topic;
• personal relationships that may affect scholarly judgment.

Authors should include a conflict-of-interest statement at the end of their manuscript.

If no conflict exists, authors should state:

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Reviewers

Reviewers should decline to review manuscripts if they have:

• personal or professional relationships with the authors;
• institutional affiliations that could affect impartiality;
• financial interests related to the subject of the manuscript;
• any other circumstances that may compromise objectivity.

Reviewers must immediately notify the editorial office if a conflict of interest becomes apparent during the review process.

Editors and Editorial Board Members

Editors and Editorial Board members must recuse themselves from editorial decisions whenever a conflict of interest exists.

Manuscripts submitted by members of the Editorial Board are subject to the same double-blind review process as all other submissions and are handled independently by editors who have no conflict of interest.

 

Data Availability and Research Transparency Policy

The International Quarterly of Foreign Relations supports the principles of transparency, reproducibility, and scholarly accountability in research.

Authors are encouraged to provide sufficient information about their research design, data collection procedures, and analytical methods to allow readers and reviewers to assess the validity and reliability of their findings.

Research Transparency Requirements

Authors should clearly describe:

• the research methodology;
• data sources and collection procedures;
• sampling methods;
• analytical techniques;
• limitations of the study;
• theoretical assumptions and conceptual frameworks.

Research findings should be presented in a manner that allows independent verification whenever possible.

Data Availability Statement

Authors are encouraged to include a data availability statement in their manuscripts.

Examples include:

Openly available data:

The data supporting the findings of this study are publicly available at [repository name and link].

Data available upon request:

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Restricted data:

The data are not publicly available because of legal, ethical, or confidentiality restrictions.

Qualitative and Sensitive Data

For qualitative research involving confidential interviews, governmental documents, or sensitive materials, authors should provide sufficient methodological detail while respecting ethical and legal constraints.

The journal recognizes that, in some areas of foreign policy and international relations, restrictions on data sharing may be necessary because of national security, confidentiality, or ethical considerations.

Research Reproducibility

Authors are encouraged to retain research data, coding procedures, and supporting materials for a reasonable period after publication and to cooperate with editorial inquiries regarding the accuracy and reliability of their findings.

Failure to provide sufficient evidence supporting the conclusions of a study may result in rejection, correction, or retraction of the article.