Journal Policy

1         Journal Title: Political Horizons

2         Journal Aim and Scope:

  • Political Horizons is an open-access and peer-reviewed research journal of the Department of Political Science, the Islamia University of Bahawalpur.
  • The Journal aims to contribute to the discipline of political science in the relevant spheres of policy, polity, and politics with cross-cutting, sophisticated, and rigorous research. To ignite an intellectual discourse, scholarly debate, and informed policy dialogue, the journal welcomes research publications that are innovative, novel, and creative with considerable contributions to the existing literature, and/or offer fresh insights about comparative political and policy perspectives across the globe.
  • The journal publishes scholarly research in major areas of political science that include but not limited to political economy, comparative politics, public policy, public administration, gender studies & gender empowerment, public finance, public management, governance & statecraft, peace & conflict resolution, ethnicity, human resource development, international relations, defense & strategic studies, war studies, political anthropology, political sociology, organizational theory design & behavior, sustainable development and development studies, and civic engagement.
  • The journal values diversity, hence, puts no restrictions on methodical approaches and welcome all qualitative, quantitative, and interactive research studies, with no compromise on quality, integrity, and standards of the submitted papers, for assisting its wider audience to have abreast of the recent happenings in their areas of interest.

3         Frequency of Publication:

Political Horizons currently is a bi-annual journal published in June and December of each year.

4         Peer Review

All content to be published in journal will be subject to double-blind peer review.

5         Access to Journal

The journal will follow open-access policy and will be free to access.

6         Publication Fee

There is no publication fee.

7         Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

8         Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement the Journal of Political Horizons

Political Horizons adheres to best and error-free publication practices on ethical grounds. We encourage diversity to disseminate original and quality research. Our publishing values recognize all the efforts of authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers. We hope that all the stakeholders have a shared understanding and acceptance of Journal’s ethical policies and practices. Journal’s policies are closely associated with COPE’s (Committee on Publication Ethics) Core Practices document, which can be accessed at: http://goo.gl/aWy7WX.

9         Editorial Responsibilities

  1. Publication Decision:

The Chief Editor and other members of the Editorial Team are responsible for the fair management and publication of the submitted manuscripts. In the light of guiding policies of the Editorial Board, they have exclusive rights to submit or reject an article on the grounds of libel, copyright infringement, plagiarism or any other malpractices. All members of editorial team are responsible to:

  • Improve the quality of the Journal.
  • Encourage freedom of expression.
  • Maintain the integrity of the academic record and publication process.
  • Respond to the queries regarding publication.
  • Willing to publish clarification, correction, retraction, and apologies if needed.

Fair Review

The Editors ensure the integrity of the publication review process. The submitted manuscript is reviewed upon academic merit, originality, quality, clarity, and relevance to the Journal scope regardless of the author’s race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, political philosophy, or institutional affiliation. Decisions of publication are not made on the basis of government policies or any other agency guidance except the Journal itself.

Confidentiality

 While considering confidentiality, it is pertinent to mention that the information regarding submitted manuscript should not be revealed to any corresponding body including authors, reviewers, editorial advisors, and publishers. The team of Editors will ensure that the submitted material remains confidential while under review.

 Disclosures or Conflicts of Interest

 Editors and Editorial Board members will ensure that the disclosed information of the submitted manuscript (Published or Unpublished) must not be used by any of the board members for their research purpose without the author’s written authorization. The Editor must not allow any conflict of interest among authors, reviewers, and board members. 

Involvement and cooperation in investigations:

 Appropriate responsive measures will be taken by the editors if any ethical issue has been raised concerning the submitted manuscript (Published or Unpublished). While taking such measures the editor corresponds with the author and makes rectification with the author’s consent. Every reported issue regarding unethical publishing must be looked into, even if it is found years after publication.

10      Authors’ Responsibilities

 Originality & Plagiarism

 Authors should ensure that the work they have submitted is entirely original and they have appropriately cited the work and words of others. They will also sign a declaration stating that the manuscript is original and has followed all the requirements.  Plagiarism in all forms considered unethical and unacceptable. In the result of any misconduct the respective authorities will take necessary action.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Reporting Standards

With the aspect of originality, authors should maintain the reporting standards of their research to meet all the requirements of the Journal. The manuscript should contain all the pertinent details along with accurate reference to acknowledge others people work. Any replication, duplication and inaccuracy in the content should be considered unethical and unacceptable.

 Authorship of the Manuscript

Authorship will be limited to those who made a significant contribution to the content. All those who have contributed to the concept, design, execution, and interpretation of the study should be listed as co-authors. While those who have participated in substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as a contributor.  The validation of appropriate co-authors must be ensured by the corresponding author and all the co-authors must agree on the final submission and publication of the paper.

Acknowledgement of Sources

 It is considered the responsibility of authors to properly and accurately acknowledge the work of others. They must be cited or quoted all the published work which have been influential to the author’s research work. Information obtained on confidential grounds must not be disclosed without the consent of the relevant person.

 Multiple or Duplicate Submission:

 It is important to discuss that author must not submit the same manuscript in more than one journal concurrently. The Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. The act of duplication and multiple submissions is considered unethical and unacceptable.

Disclosure or Conflict of Interest

 Authors should reveal if any financial or other substantial conflicts of interest have been raised that might influence the interpretation or the results of the research. Moreover, they must acknowledge an individual or organizations that have provided financial support (Research grant or Research Aid) for the research project.

Data Access and Retention

 For Editorial review, the Authors could be asked to provide raw data relevant to the submitted manuscript. They should not be reluctant to make such data publically accessible and retain this for a reasonable time after publication (10 years after publication).

11      Reviewers’ Responsibilities

 Contribution to Editorial Decision

 The peer review of the article by the reviewers assists in the editorial decision. On the other hand, editors’ corresponding with the authors assists them to improve their manuscripts. Peer review is considered an integral component of this formal scholarly communication. 

 Confidentiality

 It is important that the reviewer should considered the manuscript as confidential document and must not disclosed or discussed with any other person without the consent of Editor-in-Chief.

Standards of Objectivity:

Review of the manuscripts should be conducted objectively and the observations formulated clearly with the supporting arguments the author can make further improvement in the submitted draft. Personal criticism of the author (by the reviewer) will be considered unethical and inappropriate.

Promptness

 Any nominated reviewer who feels uncomfortable and unqualified to review the submitted manuscript or may consider that prompt review will not be possible in notify time can excuse himself from the review process.

 Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

 It is important to mention that submitted manuscripts or unpublished work of authors should not be used in the reviewer’s research work without the express written permission of the author. The research ideas and information obtained through peer review must be kept confidential by the reviewers and they must not utilize it for personal advantage. A reviewer should avoid evaluating such manuscripts that carry the element of conflict of interest.

12      Author Guidelines

Instructions for Authors

  1. Author Details: Complete names of author(s) are to be provided. Current affiliations of author(s) should be mentioned with designation and email address in the footnote. Corresponding author (if other than principal author) should clearly be mentioned.
  2. Number of Authors:Maximum of three co-authors are allowed with the principal author.
  3. Abstract and Key words: Length of abstract should be 150 to 250 words. Five keywords should be given.
  4. Formatting:Manuscripts must be typed in Times New Roman font size 11, Line spacing single, Paper size A4, and at least one inch (2.54 cm) margin on all sides of paper. Heading styles should be as follows: Title: 14 Bold, Heading Level 1: 13 Bold, Heading Level 2: 12 Bold, Heading Levle 3: 12 Bold. Font size in footnotes will be 10. Page Numbers should be given in the right bottom corner of the page. All text should be justified.  
  5. Length: the Manuscripts may comprise of 3500 to 7000 words.
  6. Notes and References: should follow APA 6th Edition.
  7. Illustrations:Tables, graphs, and photographs should be clear with good picture quality. Proper captions should be given to all illustrations.
  8. Acknowledgments:Any funding agency or a person supporting/supported the research in any form should be duly acknowledged (at the end of the paper, before bibliography).
  9. Originality of Work:All papers will be checked for plagiarism.
  10. Paper Submission: Soft copy of the article, composed in MS word format only must be submitted on journal website: https://journals.iub.edu.pk/index.php/ph/about/submissionsor can be emailed at horizons@iub.edu.pk
  11. Deadline for Submission: Research articles can be submitted anytime for publication in the forthcoming issues.