Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

Focus and Scope

Public Sphere: Journal of Social Politics, Governance, and Law is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes original research articles and scholarly analyses focusing on the dynamics of the public sphere, particularly the interactions between the state, society, law, and public policy in local, national, and global contexts. The journal aims to serve as a platform for the dissemination of knowledge that contributes to the advancement of democracy, governance, legal justice, and inclusive social development.

The journal adopts a focused interdisciplinary approach, integrating perspectives from political science, public administration, law, social sciences, religious studies, psychology, education, as well as environmental and applied scientific studies, in order to examine complex and contemporary public issues.

The scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to, studies on democracy and politics, such as democratization processes, electoral behavior, political parties, political communication, identity politics, and populism. In the field of governance, the journal covers topics related to public administration, governance practices, bureaucratic reform, decentralization, public service delivery, and public policy analysis and evaluation. Legal studies constitute a central component of the journal, encompassing constitutional law, administrative law, human rights, law enforcement, and the relationship between law and society.

In addition, the journal addresses social dynamics within the public sphere, including civil society, public participation, digital public spaces, social conflicts, and issues of inclusion and marginalization. Interdisciplinary perspectives are encouraged, particularly those that explore the intersection of law, politics, economics, and development, including evidence-based policymaking.

The journal also welcomes contributions that incorporate religious perspectives in public life, including the relationship between religion and the state, religion-based politics, religious moderation, and the role of religion in public policy and societal dynamics. Psychological perspectives are also included, especially in understanding individual and collective behavior in political, legal, and policy contexts, such as public perception, trust in government, social polarization, and legal compliance.

In the field of education, the journal covers studies related to education policy, civic education, public literacy, and the role of education in shaping social, political, and legal awareness within society. Furthermore, the journal accepts contributions that integrate environmental, geographical, and scientific perspectives into public policy analysis, including environmental governance, climate change, agrarian conflicts, public health, and the application of scientific knowledge—such as biology and chemistry—in policy and regulatory contexts.

Although the journal embraces a multidisciplinary approach, all submitted manuscripts must demonstrate a clear relevance to public sphere dynamics, governance, public policy, legal frameworks, or state–society relations. Therefore, purely technical, laboratory-based, or discipline-specific studies without broader social or policy implications are not considered for publication.

 

Section Policies

Articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed
 

Peer Review Process

Peer Review Policy

Public Sphere: Journal of Social Politics, Governance, and Law implements a rigorous and transparent peer review process to ensure the quality, originality, and academic integrity of all published articles. The journal adopts a double-blind peer review system, in which both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the review process.

All submitted manuscripts are first evaluated by the editorial team through an initial screening (desk review) to assess their suitability with the journal’s focus and scope, adherence to submission guidelines, and basic methodological quality. Manuscripts that do not meet these criteria may be rejected without external review.

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are assigned to at least two independent reviewers with relevant expertise in the subject area. Reviewers are selected based on their academic qualifications, research experience, and publication record. The review process evaluates the manuscript based on several criteria, including originality, theoretical contribution, methodological rigor, clarity of analysis, relevance to the public sphere and governance issues, and overall academic quality.

Reviewers are expected to provide constructive, objective, and timely feedback. They may recommend one of the following decisions: (1) accept without revision, (2) accept with minor revisions, (3) revise and resubmit (major revisions), or (4) reject. In cases of conflicting reviewer recommendations, the editor may assign an additional reviewer or make a final decision based on editorial judgment.

The editorial team makes the final decision on manuscript acceptance based on reviewers’ comments and the revised version submitted by the authors. Authors are required to revise their manuscripts in accordance with reviewer feedback and submit a clear response to reviewers.

To uphold academic integrity, all manuscripts are screened for plagiarism using reliable similarity detection tools. Manuscripts with significant similarity or evidence of academic misconduct will be rejected. The journal adheres to international publication ethics standards, including those established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The average review process typically takes between 4 to 8 weeks, depending on reviewer availability and the extent of revisions required. The journal is committed to ensuring a fair, unbiased, and timely review process.

 

Publication Frequency

The Indonesian Education Journal (Theory, Research and Innovation) is published 3 times a year, including: March, July, November.

 

Open Access Policy

Open Access Policy

Public Sphere: Journal of Social Politics, Governance, and Law provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

All articles published in this journal are freely and permanently accessible online without subscription or payment. Readers are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.

This journal applies the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original author(s) and the source are properly cited.

The journal does not impose any restrictions on access to published content and supports the principles of open access to ensure the widest possible dissemination of scholarly work. By removing access barriers, the journal aims to promote knowledge sharing, academic collaboration, and the advancement of research and society.

Authors retain the copyright of their work and grant the journal the right of first publication. The journal encourages authors to deposit their published articles in institutional repositories, academic platforms, and personal websites to enhance visibility and citation impact.

 

Publication Ethics

Jurnal Public Sphare: Jurnal Sosial Politik, Pemerintahan dan Hukum (Journal of Social Politics, Government and Law), e-ISSN 2807-3878 (Online), is a peer-reviewed journal published by CV Widina Media Utama Publishing. This statement clarifies the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of posting an article in this journal, including the author, the chief editor, the Editorial Board, the peer-reviewed and the publisher. This statement is based on COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

Ethical Guideline for Journal Publication

The publication of an article in a peer-reviewed, Jurnal Public Sphare is an essential building block in the development of a coherent and respected network of knowledge. It is a direct reflection of the quality of the work of the authors and the institutions that support them. Peer-reviewed articles support and embody the scientific method. It is therefore essential to agree upon standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in the act of publishing: the author, the journal editor, the peer reviewer, the publisher, and the society.

CV Widina Media Utama Publishing as the publisher of Jurnal Jurnal Public Sphare takes its duties of guardianship over all stages of publishing exceptionally seriously, and we recognize our ethical and other responsibilities. We are committed to ensuring that advertising, reprint, or additional commercial revenue has no impact or influence on editorial decisions. Besides, CV Widina Media Utama, and the Editorial Board will assist in communications with other journals and publishers where this is useful and necessary.

Publication decisions

The editor of the Jurnal Public Sphare is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should publish. The validation of the work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such decisions. The editors may be guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editors may confer with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair play

An editor at any time evaluates manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor's research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial communications with the author may also help the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument reported should be accompanied by the appropriate citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Duties of Authors

Reporting standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention

Authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review, and should be prepared to provide public access to such data (consistent with the ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases), if practicable, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works and if the authors have used the works or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant or Concurrent Publication

An author should not, in general, publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same paper concurrently to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the article and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Fundamental errors in published works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

 

 

Article Processing Charges

The journal charges only article processing charge of Rp. 600.000 (Indonesia Author) or Rp. 0 (International Author + Indonesia Author, International Author). This charge is applied only after a submission is accepted.

Author should understand that willingness to pay does not guarantee the acceptance of a submission.