Author Guidelines

Manuscript Preparation & Submission

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

Politeia : Journal of Public Administration and Political Science and International Relations

Please read these guidelines carefully before submitting your manuscript. Authors are responsible for ensuring compliance with the journal's scientific, technical, ethical, formatting, originality, transparency, and policy requirements.

Journal Quick Facts

3031-3929Online ISSN SINTA 3Accreditation QuarterlyJan • Apr • Jul • Oct CC BY 4.0Open Access

Quick Submission Requirements

4,000–8,000
Total Words
≤16
Title Words
4
Keywords
≥30
References

✓ Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors must confirm that their manuscript complies with the following requirements. Non-compliant manuscripts may be returned before peer review.

✓ Originality
The manuscript has not been published previously and is not simultaneously submitted or under consideration elsewhere. All borrowed ideas, data, quotations, and paraphrases must be properly cited.
✓ Manuscript Length
The manuscript contains 4,000–8,000 words and follows the structure specified in the official journal template.
✓ Abstract & Keywords
The abstract is written as a single paragraph using the required Introduction–Novelty–Methods–Results–Conclusion flow. Exactly four keywords are provided and separated by semicolons.
✓ Official Template
The manuscript is prepared using the official Politeia template. Preset margins, spacing, font, font size, and automatic line numbering must not be modified.
✓ Similarity Check
The manuscript has been checked using Turnitin. A report showing no plagiarism and an overall similarity level of less than 20% is required for processing.
✓ Policies & Ethics
The authors have read and agree to comply with Politeia's publication ethics, AI usage, data-sharing, copyright, conflict-of-interest, and publication-charge policies.
✓ Online Submission
The manuscript and required supporting documents are submitted through the journal's official OJS submission system.

1. General Author Guidelines

  1. All contributors submitting to Politeia : Journal of Public Administration and Political Science and International Relations must comply with these Author Guidelines and the official manuscript template.
  2. Politeia welcomes original research articles, technical papers, conceptual frameworks, and case studies that advance knowledge in public administration, political science, governance, public policy, diplomacy, and international relations.
  3. The journal applies a double-blind peer-review process. Manuscripts undergo an initial editorial screening for scope, originality, academic quality, methodological rigor, formatting, and ethical compliance.
  4. Manuscripts passing initial screening are normally reviewed by at least two independent expert reviewers. An additional reviewer may be invited where reviewer assessments differ substantially.
  5. Editorial decisions may include acceptance, minor revision, major revision, rejection, or resubmission. Reviewer recommendations inform the decision, while the final publication decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief or designated Editorial Board authority.
  6. Authors required to revise a manuscript are normally given a three-week revision period and should provide a point-by-point response to reviewer comments together with a clearly revised manuscript.
  7. Authors remain fully responsible for authorship, research integrity, ethical compliance, accuracy of evidence, proper citation, conflict-of-interest disclosure, and all claims presented in the manuscript.
  8. The corresponding author must maintain an active account and valid email address in the submission system because editorial correspondence is handled electronically.

2. Scope Alignment

Submissions must make a clear theoretical, empirical, comparative, policy-oriented, or applied contribution within the journal's scope. Topics include, but are not limited to:

Public Administration: theory, institutions, programs & administrative practice Public Policy, Policy Analysis & Policy Evaluation
Government, Governance & Public Sector Reform Political Science, Political Theory & Political Dynamics
International Relations, Diplomacy & Global Order Security, Conflict & Conflict Resolution
Local Government, Decentralization & Regional Development Comparative Politics & Comparative Governance
Political Economy & Development Public Ethics, Leadership, Accountability & Public Trust
Democracy, Political Institutions & Citizen Participation Human Rights, Global Justice & International Organizations

3. Manuscript Format

Authors must prepare the manuscript directly using the official Politeia submission template. Preset formatting must not be changed.

Language English; American English is the default language style
Official Template Mandatory; authors must not alter margins, spacing, font type, font size, or preset styles
Line Numbering Automatic line numbering on the left margin must be retained for review and revision
Manuscript Length 4,000–8,000 words
Main Sections Introduction; Method; Result and Discussion; Conclusion
Reference Style APA 7th Edition
Manuscript Preparation Guidelines

4. Structure of the Manuscript

The manuscript must present a coherent relationship between the research problem, scholarly gap, novelty, method, evidence, interpretation, conclusion, and contribution to governance, public administration, political science, or international relations.

4.1 Title

The title must be concise, informative, and accurately represent the central focus or principal contribution of the manuscript.

  • Maximum length: 16 words.
  • Do not include the research year in the title.
  • Avoid abbreviations, symbols, and uncommon terms.
  • Where possible, communicate the principal focus, result, policy issue, political phenomenon, or substantive conclusion.

4.2 Author Names and Affiliations

  • Write each author's full name without academic or professional titles.
  • Provide faculty/department, institution, city/region, and country.
  • Affiliations should be linked to authors using superscript numbers where required by the template.
  • Clearly identify one corresponding author with an asterisk (*).
  • Provide valid email addresses and the corresponding author's telephone number where required.
  • Authors are encouraged to include ORCID iDs.

4.3 Abstract

Required Format: English • Single paragraph • No references • No figures/tables • No undefined abbreviations

The abstract must follow the structure specified in the official template and communicate the study in a compact, coherent paragraph:

1 Introduction: topic, essential background, significance, problem/phenomenon, and research question(s)
2 Novelty: what distinguishes the study and why the research question remains insufficiently addressed
3 Methods: research design, evidence/data, context, and essential analytical procedure
4 Results: principal empirical or analytical findings with a concise interpretive statement
5 Conclusion: main conclusion, contribution, policy/theoretical implications, and take-home message

4.4 Keywords

Provide exactly four (4) keywords immediately after the abstract. Keywords must represent the manuscript's central concepts and be separated by semicolons, for example: KEYWORDS: public policy; governance; institutional reform; citizen participation.

4.5 Introduction

The Introduction must build a persuasive scholarly rationale for the study and move logically from the broader governance/political/international issue toward the specific research question and contribution.

It should normally establish the problem and its significance; relevant theories and current state of research; the substantive or methodological gap; the research question(s); the novelty of the study; and clear research objectives.

Novelty Requirement
The novelty must be explicit rather than implied. Authors should state what is missing, contested, underexplored, or inadequately explained in prior scholarship and identify the specific way in which the present study addresses that gap.

4.6 Method

The Method section must describe the research process transparently enough for readers to evaluate the credibility, appropriateness, and replicability or auditability of the study.

Approaches may include quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, comparative research, case study, policy analysis, institutional analysis, political economy analysis, survey research, experiments, interviews, archival/document analysis, discourse analysis, process tracing, content analysis, network analysis, literature review, or other appropriate designs.

The Method section should address, where applicable:
  • Research design and epistemological/analytical approach
  • Research setting, country, region, institution, policy domain, organization, or political context
  • Population, sample, participants, informants, cases, documents, events, or datasets
  • Case-selection, sampling, or inclusion/exclusion criteria
  • Key concepts, constructs, variables, indicators, or analytical categories
  • Data sources and collection procedures
  • Analytical framework, statistical methods, coding procedure, policy-analysis framework, comparative logic, or interpretive procedure
  • Validity, reliability, robustness, triangulation, or trustworthiness
  • Ethics approval and informed consent where human participants, confidential data, or sensitive political information are involved

4.7 Result and Discussion

The Result and Discussion section is presented as the principal analytical section of the manuscript. It should integrate evidence with scholarly interpretation rather than separating descriptive reporting from theoretical discussion mechanically.

✓ Present findings systematically according to research questions, hypotheses, cases, themes, policy dimensions, or analytical categories.
✓ Use processed evidence rather than raw software output or uncontextualized descriptive material.
✓ Interpret what the findings mean for public administration, governance, policy, political processes, institutions, diplomacy, security, or international relations.
✓ Compare results with relevant previous studies and explain agreements, differences, contradictions, extensions, or boundary conditions.
✓ Discuss theoretical, empirical, institutional, policy, governance, diplomatic, or practical implications.
✓ Where relevant, acknowledge analytical cautions and explain how contextual conditions affect interpretation or generalization.

4.8 Conclusion

The Conclusion should be written as a concise academic narrative and directly answer the objectives and research question(s).

  • State the principal conclusion and synthesize the most important findings.
  • Explain the study's theoretical, empirical, governance, policy, institutional, or diplomatic contribution.
  • Identify practical or policy implications where appropriate.
  • Acknowledge meaningful limitations.
  • Provide focused directions for future research.
Academic Contribution
The conclusion should explicitly explain how the study extends, challenges, refines, or enriches existing theory, methodology, policy knowledge, institutional understanding, comparative evidence, or empirical scholarship.
Important: Do not introduce new data, new literature, or new arguments in the Conclusion.

4.9 Acknowledgments

Authors may acknowledge individuals, institutions, research assistants, public agencies, diplomatic institutions, data providers, funding or administrative support, or other parties that contributed to the research but do not meet authorship criteria.

4.10 Declarations

Authors must provide appropriate declarations to support transparency, accountability, reproducibility, and research integrity.

Author Contributions

Describe each author's contribution clearly. Use of the CRediT Contributor Roles Taxonomy is encouraged, including conceptualization, methodology, investigation, formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, visualization, supervision, project administration, and funding acquisition, as applicable.

Funding

Identify all funding agencies, financial support, grant or contract numbers where applicable, and state the funder's role in the research. If there was no external funding, state this explicitly.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose financial, political, institutional, professional, personal, or other interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research or interpretation of findings.

Recommended statement when no conflict exists:
“The authors declare no conflict of interest.”
Generative Artificial Intelligence Use Statement

AI tools may be used only for limited supportive functions such as language editing, grammar correction, sentence clarity, readability, and organization of an initial draft without changing scientific meaning.

AI must not be used to generate substantial manuscript sections, analyses, interpretations, conclusions, research data, figures, tables, or fabricated citations. AI use must be disclosed in the Acknowledgments or Methods, including the tool, purpose, and affected section(s). Authors remain fully responsible for the final content.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent

For research involving human participants, personal/confidential records, vulnerable communities, politically sensitive information, or other activities requiring ethical oversight, provide the ethics committee/institution and approval information where applicable. Confirm informed consent where required. If not applicable, state this clearly.

Data Availability Statement — Mandatory

Every submitted manuscript must state whether the data supporting the findings are available, where they can be accessed, and under what conditions. Where privacy, confidentiality, legal, political, security, or contractual restrictions prevent sharing, the restriction must be explained.

Example of a Complete Declaration

Author Contributions: Author 1 conceptualized the study, developed the methodology, conducted the analysis, and prepared the original draft; Author 2 supervised the research, validated the findings, reviewed and edited the manuscript, and approved the final version.

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Generative Artificial Intelligence Use Statement: Generative AI was used only for limited language editing and readability support. It was not used to generate data, scientific analysis, interpretation, references, or conclusions. The authors reviewed and remain responsible for all final content.

Ethics Approval and Informed Consent: Not applicable to this study.

Data Availability Statement: The data supporting the findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

4.11 References

References must demonstrate engagement with relevant, credible, current, peer-reviewed scholarship and must directly support the manuscript's theoretical framing, analysis, and contribution.

Reference Style APA 7th Edition
Minimum References At least 30 references
Journal Articles At least 80% should consist of peer-reviewed journal articles
Recency The majority should preferably come from the last 10 years, except relevant seminal works
Reference Manager Mendeley or equivalent reference-management software is strongly recommended
Reference Quality & Consistency
Avoid excessive reliance on blogs, commercial websites, anonymous sources, and non-peer-reviewed materials. Verify every author name, year, title, journal, volume/issue, page range, DOI, and correspondence between in-text citations and the reference list.

5. Tables, Figures, Maps, and Policy Visuals

Tables
Tables should present processed and summarized evidence rather than raw statistical/software output. Number and title tables consistently according to the journal template.
Figures, Maps & Diagrams
Figures, governance models, policy-process diagrams, maps, network visualizations, and other visuals must be clear, readable, relevant, and of publication quality.
Sources & Permissions
The source of all tables, figures, maps, photographs, and adapted materials must be clearly stated. Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for copyrighted third-party materials.

6. Appendices

Appendices may contain questionnaires, interview protocols, policy-document coding frameworks, additional statistical models, robustness tests, supplementary tables, legal/policy matrices, case chronologies, maps, or other supporting materials that assist readers in understanding or evaluating the research.

7. Peer Review, Similarity & Research Integrity

Double-Blind Peer Review
Author and reviewer identities are concealed during the review process. Manuscripts passing initial screening are normally evaluated by at least two independent experts.
Revision
Where revision is requested, authors are normally given three weeks and should submit a point-by-point response together with the revised manuscript.
Similarity Threshold
A similarity index above 40% may result in rejection. Manuscripts with 10–40% similarity may be returned for correction. A Turnitin report showing no plagiarism or less than 20% similarity is required for processing.
Editorial Authority
Reviewer reports support editorial assessment; the final publication decision remains with the Editor-in-Chief or designated Editorial Board authority.

8. Open Access, Copyright & Publication Charges

Open Access & License. Politeia provides immediate open access. Authors retain full copyright and grant the journal a non-exclusive right of first publication. Articles are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

License to Publish. Upon acceptance, authors are required to complete the journal's License to Publish Agreement before production proceeds.

Article Processing Charge (APC)
  • International authors: USD 25
  • Indonesian authors: Rp 350,000
  • No article submission charge

The APC is invoiced only after acceptance and does not influence peer review. Waiver provisions include eligible authors from low-income countries and corresponding authors with an h-index of 15 or higher on Scopus or Web of Science; reviewer discounts may also apply.

Authors should verify the current APC page before submission because publication charges and waiver arrangements may be updated.
Before You Submit

Final Manuscript Quality Check

✓ Title contains no more than 16 words and clearly reflects the study.
✓ Author names, affiliations, correspondence details, and ORCID information are complete.
✓ Abstract follows Introduction–Novelty–Methods–Results–Conclusion in one paragraph.
✓ Exactly four relevant keywords are provided and separated by semicolons.
✓ Official template formatting and automatic line numbering have not been modified.
✓ Introduction clearly establishes the research gap and novelty.
✓ Methodology is transparent, contextually appropriate, and sufficiently detailed.
✓ Result and Discussion directly address the research questions and engage critically with prior scholarship.
✓ Conclusion states the academic and/or policy contribution, limitations, and future research directions.
✓ Author contributions, funding, conflicts, AI use, ethics, and Data Availability are declared as applicable.
✓ References follow APA 7th, total at least 30, and at least 80% are journal articles.
✓ Turnitin report demonstrates no plagiarism and less than 20% similarity.

Official Politeia Policy Pages

Author Guidelines  •  Focus & Scope  •  Peer Review  •  Plagiarism Policy  •  AI Policy  •  Data Sharing  •  Copyright & Licensing  •  Article Processing Charge

Before Final Submission

Authors should carefully review the official template, manuscript structure, research ethics, similarity report, AI disclosure, data availability, reference consistency, metadata, and current journal policies before completing submission. Compliance with these requirements supports efficient editorial screening and rigorous peer review.