Aim and Scope

Aim

Caucasus Studies is an international, peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary research on the Caucasus and its relations with neighbouring regions and the wider world. The journal provides a scholarly platform for researchers examining the historical, political, social, educational, economic and cultural processes shaping the North and South Caucasus.

The journal aims to promote theoretically grounded, methodologically rigorous and evidence-based research that contributes to a deeper understanding of regional developments, identities, institutions and transnational relations. It welcomes studies that analyse the Caucasus within local, national, regional, comparative and global contexts.

Particular attention is given to original research that strengthens academic dialogue among scholars from different countries and disciplines, encourages comparative and cross-border perspectives, and contributes to the development of Caucasus studies as an interdisciplinary field.

Scope

Caucasus Studies publishes original research articles, review articles, comparative studies, theoretical papers, policy analyses and scholarly book reviews in the following areas:

• Caucasus history, archaeology and cultural heritage
• Political science, governance and public administration
• International relations, geopolitics and regional security
• Conflict studies, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction
• Sociology, social policy and contemporary social transformations
• Education, higher education and educational policy
• Comparative education and intercultural learning
• Economics, regional development and economic cooperation
• Energy policy, energy security and transport corridors
• Migration, demography, ethnicity and national minorities
• Identity, nationalism, diaspora and multiculturalism
• Law, human rights and minority rights
• Language, literature, media and communication
• Religion, philosophy and intellectual history
• Environmental studies, water security and sustainable development
• Digital transformation, innovation and technology in society

Regional and Thematic Relevance

Manuscripts should demonstrate a clear connection to the Caucasus region, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and the North Caucasus, or examine the region’s relations with Türkiye, Iran, Russia, Central Asia, the Black Sea region, the Caspian region, Europe and the wider international community.

Comparative studies extending beyond the Caucasus are also welcome when they offer direct theoretical, historical, political, social, educational, economic or cultural relevance to the region. Manuscripts without a clear connection to the journal’s regional or thematic focus may be considered outside its scope.

Open Access, Copyright and Licensing

Open Access

All content published by Caucasus Studies is made freely and immediately available to readers without subscription, registration or payment barriers. Readers may read, download, copy, share, print, search and link to published articles in accordance with the conditions of the journal’s open-access licence.

The journal supports the principle that free access to scholarly research contributes to the wider dissemination, visibility and use of academic knowledge.

Copyright

Authors who publish in Caucasus Studies retain the copyright to their work. By submitting and publishing an article in the journal, authors grant the journal the right of first publication and a non-exclusive licence to publish, reproduce, distribute, display, preserve and make the published work publicly available in electronic and printed formats.

Authors may enter into additional non-exclusive agreements for the distribution of the published version of their work, including depositing it in an institutional repository, including it in a book or academic collection, or making it available on a personal or institutional website, provided that the original publication in Caucasus Studies is properly acknowledged.

Authors are responsible for ensuring that their submissions are original, do not infringe copyright and do not contain third-party material without the necessary permission or a valid legal basis for its use.

Licensing

Unless otherwise stated, all articles published in Caucasus Studies are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0).

This licence permits users to read, download, copy, share, distribute, print, search, link to, adapt and build upon the published material for any lawful purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the author or authors and the journal.

Users must cite the original publication, provide a link to the licence and clearly indicate whether any changes were made. Attribution must not suggest that the authors or the journal endorse a particular user, product, service or modified version of the work.

Author Rights

Authors retain the right to:

• Share and distribute the published article for academic and professional purposes.
• Deposit the submitted, accepted or published version in an institutional or subject repository.
• Use the article in teaching, lectures, conference presentations and educational materials.
• Reuse all or part of the article in a thesis, dissertation, book or subsequent scholarly work.
• Be properly identified and acknowledged as the author of the published work.

Third-Party Material

Images, figures, tables, photographs, datasets and other third-party materials included in an article are covered by the article’s Creative Commons licence unless a separate copyright notice or credit line indicates otherwise.

When material is not included under the article’s licence and its intended use is not permitted by law, users must obtain permission directly from the relevant copyright holder. Authors must secure all necessary permissions before submitting copyrighted third-party material to the journal.

Peer Review Policy

Review Model

Caucasus Studies applies a rigorous double-blind peer-review process. The identities of authors are not disclosed to reviewers, and the identities of reviewers are not disclosed to authors. This model supports the independent, objective and impartial evaluation of submitted manuscripts.

Manuscripts that successfully pass the initial editorial assessment are normally evaluated by at least two independent expert reviewers with relevant academic knowledge and research experience in the subject area of the submission.

The final decision on acceptance, revision or rejection is made by the Editor-in-Chief or the responsible editor, taking into consideration the reviewers’ reports, the journal’s editorial standards and the manuscript’s relevance to the journal’s aim and scope.

Peer Review Process

1. Submission and Technical Check. The editorial office checks the manuscript for completeness, formatting, authorship information, required declarations, references, anonymity and compliance with the journal’s submission requirements.
2. Initial Editorial Assessment. The Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor evaluates the manuscript’s originality, academic quality, ethical compliance and relevance to the journal’s aim and scope. Manuscripts that do not meet the journal’s fundamental requirements may be rejected without external review.
3. Reviewer Selection. At least two independent reviewers are selected based on their subject expertise, publication record and absence of conflicts of interest. Reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institution as the authors or have relationships that may affect their impartiality.
4. Independent Evaluation. Reviewers assess the manuscript independently and submit detailed reports containing comments, recommendations and a proposed editorial decision.
5. Editorial Decision. Based on the reviewers’ reports, the editor may accept the manuscript, request minor revisions, request major revisions or reject the manuscript.
6. Revision and Final Assessment. Authors must submit a revised manuscript together with a point-by-point response explaining how each reviewer comment was addressed. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the original reviewers before a final decision is made.

Review Criteria

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

• Relevance to the journal’s aim and scope
• Originality and scholarly contribution
• Clarity of the research problem and objectives
• Appropriateness of the theoretical framework
• Suitability and transparency of the methodology
• Reliability of the evidence and analysis
• Accuracy of results and conclusions
• Engagement with relevant and current literature
• Organisation, clarity and academic language
• Compliance with research and publication ethics

Editorial Decisions

Accept: The manuscript is suitable for publication without substantial changes.

Minor Revision: The manuscript requires limited corrections or clarification before acceptance.

Major Revision: Substantial changes are required, and the revised manuscript may undergo another round of peer review.

Reject: The manuscript does not meet the journal’s scholarly, methodological, ethical or thematic requirements.

Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts and all related materials are confidential documents. Editors and reviewers must not disclose, copy, distribute, discuss or use unpublished information contained in a manuscript for personal, professional or competitive advantage.

Reviewers must securely delete or destroy manuscript files after completing the review process and must not contact the authors directly regarding the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, personal or academic relationship that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, their assessment of a manuscript.

A reviewer who recognises a conflict of interest or believes that an objective evaluation is not possible must decline the invitation. Editors with a conflict of interest must withdraw from the editorial handling of the manuscript.

Submissions from Editors and Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by editors or members of the Editorial Board are subject to the same editorial requirements and double-blind peer-review process as all other submissions. Such manuscripts are assigned to an independent editor who has no conflict of interest. The submitting editor or board member takes no part in reviewer selection or the editorial decision.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Peer Review

Editors and reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts, unpublished data or confidential review materials to publicly accessible generative artificial intelligence systems. Artificial intelligence tools must not replace a reviewer’s independent scholarly judgement. Reviewers remain fully responsible for the accuracy, integrity and originality of their reports.

Appeals and Complaints

Authors may appeal an editorial decision when they believe that a significant error, misunderstanding or procedural irregularity affected the evaluation of their manuscript. An appeal must contain a clear, evidence-based response to the editor’s and reviewers’ comments.

Appeals are considered by the Editor-in-Chief or an independent senior editor who was not involved in the original decision. Submission of an appeal does not guarantee that the editorial decision will be changed. The decision reached following formal reconsideration is final.

About the Publisher

IMCRA Publishing

Caucasus Studies is officially published by IMCRA – International Meetings and Conferences Research Association, an independent academic publishing organisation based in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan.

IMCRA supports the publication and international dissemination of peer-reviewed scholarly research through academic journals, conference publications, books, proceedings and other forms of scholarly communication. Its publishing activities are guided by the principles of editorial independence, research integrity, open access and responsible academic publishing.

Since 2024, IMCRA has been responsible for the publication, editorial administration, digital infrastructure, international dissemination and long-term development of Caucasus Studies.

Journal History and Publishing Continuity

The concept and initial academic framework of Caucasus Studies were developed by Dr. Rahil Najafov during his work at the Institute of Caucasus Studies of the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences in 2016–2018. The journal was subsequently published within the Institute’s academic structure.

Following the closure of the Institute of Caucasus Studies, responsibility for the journal’s continued publication and development was assumed by IMCRA. This transition ensures the preservation of the journal’s scholarly identity, publication record and academic mission.

Under the editorship of Dr. Rahil Najafov and the publishing responsibility of IMCRA, the journal continues as an international, peer-reviewed and open-access academic publication. Articles have been published in English since 2024 to support broader international readership, visibility and scholarly communication.

Publishing Mission

The publisher’s mission is to promote high-quality, ethical and accessible academic publishing and to strengthen scholarly knowledge about the Caucasus and its relations with neighbouring regions and the wider world. IMCRA seeks to:

• Support original and methodologically sound academic research.
• Advance interdisciplinary Caucasus studies.
• Encourage international and comparative scholarship.
• Promote research in the humanities, education and social sciences.
• Preserve and disseminate regional scholarly knowledge.
• Expand the international visibility and accessibility of published research.

Publisher Responsibilities

IMCRA is responsible for supporting the integrity, continuity and professional operation of the journal. Its principal responsibilities include:

• Providing administrative and publishing support for the journal.
• Protecting the editorial independence of the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board.
• Maintaining the journal’s official website and electronic publishing infrastructure.
• Supporting peer review, editorial production and publication workflows.
• Maintaining the accessibility and preservation of published content.
• Supporting the dissemination, discoverability and academic visibility of articles.
• Protecting authors’ rights, personal information and confidential submission materials.
• Supporting corrective action when ethical or publication-related concerns arise.

Editorial Independence

The publisher respects and protects the editorial independence of Caucasus Studies. Decisions concerning reviewer selection and the acceptance, revision or rejection of manuscripts are made exclusively by the Editor-in-Chief and authorised editors in accordance with the journal’s editorial and peer-review policies.

The publisher does not interfere in editorial decisions on the basis of political, institutional, financial, personal or commercial considerations. Manuscripts are assessed according to their scholarly quality, originality, methodological reliability, ethical compliance and relevance to the journal’s aim and scope.

Commitment to Publication Ethics

IMCRA is committed to responsible scholarly publishing and supports internationally recognised principles of transparency, research integrity and publication ethics.

Allegations involving plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabricated or manipulated data, improper authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest or other forms of misconduct are investigated in cooperation with the journal’s editors. Where necessary, appropriate action may include a correction, expression of concern, retraction or other editorial notice.

Access and Digital Preservation

The publisher supports open scholarly communication by making the journal’s published content freely accessible online. Readers may access full-text articles without subscription or registration barriers.

Reasonable measures are taken to preserve the journal’s scholarly record and maintain continued access to published issues and articles. Corrections, retractions and other post-publication notices are transparently linked to the relevant published content.

Publisher Information

Publication Model

Continuous Publication

Since 2025, Caucasus Studies has followed a continuous publication model and publishes two issues per year.

Articles are published individually online as soon as they have successfully completed peer review, received final acceptance and passed the journal’s editorial production process. Authors are therefore not required to wait for the completion of an entire issue before their articles become available online.

When all articles assigned to an issue have been published, the issue is formally closed and prepared as a complete publication. Publication of articles in the next issue then begins. The completed issue is also prepared for print publication and long-term archiving.

Publication Language

The official publication language of Caucasus Studies is English. All submitted manuscripts must be written in clear and academically appropriate English and must comply with the journal’s editorial and formatting requirements.

Editorial and Publication Timeline

The journal normally follows the estimated processing schedule below. All periods are calculated from the date of initial manuscript submission.

1. Days 1–7 — Submission Acknowledgement. Authors normally receive confirmation that their manuscript has been received within 1–7 days of submission.
2. Days 8–38 — Editorial Assessment and Peer Review. The manuscript undergoes an initial editorial assessment and, where appropriate, external peer review. Authors normally receive an editorial or peer-review response during this period.
3. Days 39–99 — Revision and Final Decision. Authors may be requested to revise their manuscripts in response to editorial and reviewer comments. Manuscripts that successfully complete the evaluation and revision process may receive final acceptance within 39–99 days of initial submission.
4. Days 100–120 — Editorial Production and Online Publication. Accepted manuscripts undergo final editing, proofreading, formatting and publication preparation. Articles are normally published online within 100–120 days of initial submission.

The stated periods are estimates and do not constitute a guarantee. Processing may take longer when substantial revisions, additional ethical assessment, language editing or further peer review are required.