Journal of Southern African Studies (JSAS) is an international publication for work of high academic quality on issues of interest and concern in the region of Southern Africa. It aims to generate fresh scholarly research in the fields of history, economics, sociology, demography, social anthropology, geography, development studies, administration, law, political science, political economy, international relations, literature, cultural studies, and the natural sciences in so far as they relate to the human condition. It periodically organises and supports conferences to this end, sometimes in the region. It seeks to encourage inter-disciplinary analysis, strong comparative perspectives and original research that reflects new theoretical or methodological approaches. An active international advisory board with strong Southern African representation demonstrates our close ties with scholars there and our commitment to promoting research in the region.
The region covered embraces South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Angola and Mozambique; and occasionally, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and Mauritius.
Journal of Southern African Studies publishes original research articles, review articles and book reviews.
Peer Review Statement
All research articles in this journal have undergone rigorous peer review, based on initial editorial screening, followed by assignment to one of six editors with more specialised knowledge, and review by at least two expert referees. Most papers will also be subject to final approval by the full editorial board.
Journal metrics
Usage
156K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
0.7 (2023) Impact Factor
Q2 Impact Factor Best Quartile
1.0 (2023) 5 year IF
1.4 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
Q2 CiteScore Best Quartile
0.000 (2023) SNIP
0.214 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
35 days avg. from acceptance to online
publication
Understanding and using journal metrics
Journal metrics can be a useful tool for readers, as well as for authors
who are deciding where to submit their next manuscript for publication.
However, any one metric only tells a part of the story of a journal’s
quality and impact. Each metric has its limitations which means that it
should never be considered in isolation, and metrics should be used to
support and not replace qualitative review.
We strongly recommend that you always use a number of metrics, alongside
other qualitative factors such as a journal’s aims & scope, its
readership, and a review of past content published in the journal. In
addition, a single article should always be assessed on its own merits and
never based on the metrics of the journal it was published in.
Usage and acceptance rate data above are for the last full calendar year
and are updated annually in February. Speed data is updated every six
months, based on the prior six months. Citation metrics are updated
annually mid-year. Please note that some journals do not display all of
the following metrics
(find out why).
Usage:
the total number of times articles in the journal were viewed by users
of Taylor & Francis Online in the previous calendar year, rounded to the
nearest thousand.
Citation Metrics
Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles published in the
journal within a two-year window. Only journals in the Clarivate Science
Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI),
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI) and the Emerging Sources
Citation Index (ESCI) have an Impact Factor.
Impact Factor Best Quartile*:
the journal’s highest subject category ranking in the Journal Citation
Reports. Q1 = 25% of journals with the highest Impact Factors.
5 Year Impact Factor*:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal
within a five-year window.
CiteScore (Scopus)†:
the average number of citations received by articles in the journal over
a four-year period.
CiteScore Best Quartile†:
the journal’s highest CiteScore ranking in a Scopus subject category. Q1
= 25% of journals with the highest CiteScores.
SNIP
(Source Normalized Impact per Paper):
the number of citations per paper in the journal, divided by citation
potential in the field.
SJR
(Scimago Journal Rank):
Average number of (weighted) citations in one year, divided by the
number of articles published in the journal in the previous three years.
Speed/acceptance
From submission to first decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision. Based on manuscripts receiving a
first decision in the last six months.
From submission to first post-review decision:
the average (median) number of days for a manuscript submitted to the
journal to receive a first decision if it is sent out for peer review.
Based on manuscripts receiving a post-review first decision in the last
six months.
From acceptance to online publication:
the average (median) number of days from acceptance of a manuscript to
online publication of the Version of Record. Based on articles published
in the last six months.
Acceptance rate:
articles accepted for publication by the journal in the previous
calendar year as percentage of all papers receiving a final decision.
Honorary Life Members: Colin Murray (1948-2013) Terence Ranger (1929-2015) Shula Marks - SOAS, University of London, UK
Co-chairs: Sara Rich Dorman - University of Edinburgh, UK Brian Raftopoulos - Ukuthula Trust and University of the Free State, South Africa
Senior Editor: Colin Bundy - University of Oxford, UK
Editors: Alexander Beresford - University of Leeds, UK Colin Bundy - University of Oxford, UK Mattia Fumanti - University of St Andrews, UK Rebekah Lee - University of Oxford, UK Justin Pearce - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Dennis Walder - Open University, UK
Book Reviews Editor: Mpalive-Hangson Msiska - Birkbeck College, University of London, UK
Editorial Board: Jocelyn Alexander - University of Oxford, UK William Beinart - University of Oxford, UK Alexander Beresford - University of Leeds, UK Elleke Boehmer - University of Oxford, UK Maitseo Bolaane - University of Botswana, Botswana Max Bolt - University of Oxford, UK Colin Bundy - University of Oxford, UK Joel Cabrita - Stanford University, USA Blessings Chinsinga - University of Malawi, Malawi Jean Comaroff - Harvard University, USA Chris Cramer - School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK Sara Dorman - University of Edinburgh, UK Thembani Dube - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Saul Dubow - University of Cambridge, UK David Everatt - University of Witswatersrand, South Africa Joost Fontein - University of Johannesburg, South Africa Mattia Fumanti - University of St Andrews, UK Debby Gaitskell - University of London, UK Zoe Groves - University of Leicester, UK Amanda Hammar - University of Copenhagen, Denmark Shireen Hassim - Carleton University, Canada Marja Hinfelaar - Southern African Institute for Policy and Research, Zambia Paolo Israel - University of the Western Cape, South Africa Deborah James - London School of Economics, UK Diana Jeater - University of Liverpool, UK Jessica Johnson - University of Birmingham, UK Preben Kaarsholm - Roskilde University, Denmark Walima Kalusa - University of Eswatini, Eswatini George Karekwaivanane - University of Edinburgh, UK Jeremy Krikler - University of Essex, UK Helene Kyed - Danish Institute for International Studies, Denmark Gary Kynoch - Dalhousie University, Canada Rebekah Lee - University of Oxford, UK Paul La Hausse de la Louviere - University of Cambridge, UK Donal Lowry (1949-2022) Siphokazi Magadla- Rhodes University, South Africa Patricia Makepe - University of Botswana, Botswana Shula Marks - SOAS, University of London, UK Gerald Mazarire - University of Birmingham, UK JoAnn McGregor - University of Sussex, UK Darlene Miller - University of South Africa, South Africa Hlonipha Mokoena, University of Witswatersrand, South Africa Mpalive-Hangson Msiska - Birkbeck College, University of London, UK Syned Mthatiwa - University of Malawi, Malawi Patience Mususa - Nordic Afrika Institute, Sweden Josephine Nhongo-Simbanegavi - Crandall University, Canada Tinashe Nyamunda - University of Glasgow, UK Justin Pearce - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Anne Pitcher - University of Michigan, USA Debby Potts - King’s College London, UK Ranka Primorac, University of Southampton, UK Brian Raftopoulos - Ukuthula Trust and University of the Free State, South Africa Robert Ross - University of Leiden, Netherlands Blair Rutherford - Carleton University, Canada Hilary Sapire - Birkbeck College, University of London, UK Lyn Schumaker (1951-2021) Pamela Scully - Emory University, USA David Simon - Royal Holloway, University of London, UK Sishuwa Sishuwa - Stellenbosch University, South Africa Colin Stoneman - University of York, UK Morris Szeftel - University of Leeds, UK Miles Tendi - University of Oxford, UK Annika Teppo - Uppsala University, Sweden Motlatsi Thabane - University of the Free State, South Africa Alex Vines - Chatham House, UK Andrew Van der Vlies - University of Adelaide, Australia Dennis Walder - Open University, UK Marion Wallace Christian Williams - University of the Free State, South Africa Phillan Zamchiya - PLAAS, University of the Western Cape, South Africa Olaf Zenker - Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
Abstracting and indexing
Journal of Southern African Studies is abstracted in the following services:
African Studies Abstracts Online
African Urban & Regional Science Index
Anthropological Index Online
America: History and Life
ASSIA: Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts
British Humanities Index
Current Contents/Behavioural Sciences
Historical Abstracts
International Development Abstracts
International Political Science Abstracts
Political Science Abstracts
SCOPUS
Social SciSearch
Sociological Abstracts
Thomson Reuters Social Sciences Citation Index® (SSCI)
Journal of Southern African Studies is also abstracted and indexed by the library of the African Studies Centre in Leiden, The Netherlands. Please visit: www.ascleiden.nl/Library.
Open access
Journal of Southern African Studies is a hybrid open access journal that is part of our Open Select publishing program, giving you the option to publish open access. Publishing open access means that your article will be free to access online immediately on publication, increasing the visibility, readership, and impact of your research.
Why choose open access?
Increase the discoverability and readership of your article
Make an impact and reach new readers, not just those with easy access to a research library
Freely share your work with anyone, anywhere
Comply with funding mandates and meet the requirements of your institution, employer or funder
Rigorous peer review for every open access article
Article Publishing Charges (APC)
If you choose to publish open access in this journal you may be asked to pay an Article Publishing Charge (APC). You may be able to publish your article at no cost to yourself or with a reduced APC if your institution or research funder has an open access agreement or membership with Taylor & Francis.
The Journal of Southern African Studies is published on behalf of the JSAS Editorial Board.
Special subscription rate of £40 for members of the African Studies Association of the UK (ASAUK). Contact +44 (0)20 8052 0501 or [email protected] ASAUK is a scholarly organization with a membership that includes academics, journalists and broadcasters, civil servants and many others with an interest in Africa.
Print ISSN:
0305-7070
Online ISSN:
1465-3893
6 issues per year
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The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies and our publisher Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies and our publisher Taylor & Francis, our agents (including the editor, any member of the editorial team or editorial board, and any guest editors), and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies and our publisher Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. The Editorial Board of the Journal of Southern African Studies and our publisher Taylor & Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to, or arising out of the use of the Content. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions .
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