About this journal
Aims and scope
Published six times a year, the RUSI Journal is the Institute’s flagship publication and a leading forum for the exchange of ideas on national and international defence and security issues. First published in 1857, the RUSI Journal is the oldest publication of its kind in the world and considered by practitioners and scholars alike to be essential reading for anyone seeking to understand war and conflict, British and international defence and security policies, and military history.
With ten to twelve timely and policy-relevant articles on contemporary defence and security matters, scholarly studies on military history and a substantial book reviews section, the RUSI Journal consistently brings the most innovative and challenging perspectives to bear on past, present and future issues in the field.
Journal metrics
Usage
- 196K annual downloads/views
Citation metrics
- 0.7 (2023) Impact Factor
- 1.0 (2023) 5 year IF
- 1.4 (2023) CiteScore (Scopus)
- Q2 CiteScore Best Quartile
- 0.000 (2023) SNIP
- 0.247 (2023) SJR
Speed/acceptance
- 58 days avg. from submission to first decision
- 70 days avg. from submission to first post-review decision
- 21 days avg. from acceptance to online publication
- 46% acceptance rate
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.
For more details, please read the Author Services guide to understanding journal metrics.
Journal metrics in brief
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.
For more details on the data above, please read the Author Services guide to understanding journal metrics.
*Copyright: Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate Analytics
†Copyright: CiteScore™, Scopus
Editorial board
Editor
Deputy Editor
Edward Mortimer
Book Reviews Editor
Edward Mortimer
Assistant Editors
Sarah Hudson
Charlie de Rivaz
Editorial Board
Professor Ali Ansari
Professor Malcolm Chalmers
Michael Codner
Dr Jonathan Eyal
Dr Karin von Hippel
Professor John Louth
Saqeb Mueen
Raffaello Pantucci
Peter Roberts
Professor Joanna Spear
Professor Trevor Taylor
Advisory Board
Professor Jeremy Black
Dr Wyn Bowen
Sir Rodric Braithwaite
Col Robert Cassidy
Professor Eliot Cohen
Professor Christopher Coker
Dr Norman Friedman
Professor Keith Hartley
Professor Keith Hayward
Professor Beatrice Heuser
Professor Brian Holden Reid
Professor David KirkpatrickDr Greg Mills
Dr John Nagl
Sir Malcolm Rifkind
Professor Gary Sheffield
For enquiries about the RUSI Journal , please e-mail [email protected] in the first instance.
For more information about the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, please visit www.rusi.org
Open access
The RUSI Journal 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.
Use our APC finder to calculate your article publishing charge
Institution information
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is the world’s leading defence and security studies think tank. RUSI’s mission is to “inform, influence, and enhance public debate to help build a safer and more stable world”.
Become a RUSI Member to connect with others on key geopolitical, defence, and security studies issues. RUSI membership is available to individuals, armed forces, organisations, diplomats, and VIPs.
Member benefits include access to RUSI publications The RUSI Journal and Whitehall Papers.
Visit the online publications platform for RUSI members & subscribers.
The RUSI Journal welcomes new submissions. To submit your paper, read the journal's Instruction for Authors.
To register as a peer reviewer visit the journal’s submission site and create an account. For reviewer training opportunities, discover our Peer Reviewer Training Network.
7 issues per year
Currently known as:
- The RUSI Journal (1972 - current)
Formerly known as
- Royal United Services Institution. Journal (1857 - 1971)
Advertising information
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RUSI Journal and our publisher Taylor & Francis make every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the "Content") contained in our publications. However, RUSI Journal 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 RUSI Journal 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. RUSI Journal 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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Go to submission site (link opens in a new window) Instructions for authors