Democratic Theory

Aims & Scope

Democratic Theory is a peer-reviewed journal published and distributed by Berghahn.

It encourages philosophical and interdisciplinary contributions that critically explore democratic theory—in all its forms.

Spanning a range of views, the journal offers a cross-disciplinary forum for diverse theoretical questions to be put forward and systematically examined.

It advances non-Western as well as Western ideas and is actively based on the premise that there are many forms of democracies and many types of democrats.

As a forum for debate, the journal challenges theorists to ask and answer the perennial questions that plague the field of democratization studies: Why is democracy so prominent in the world today?

What is the meaning of democracy?

Will democracy continue to expand?

Are current forms of democracy sufficient to give voice to “the people” in an increasingly fragmented and divided world?

Who leads in democracy?

What types of non-Western democratic theories are there?

Should democrats always defend democracy?

Should democrats be fearful of de-democratization, post-democracies, and the rise of hybridized regimes?

Metrics & Ranking

Abstracting & Indexing

Journal is indexed in leading academic databases, ensuring global visibility and accessibility of our peer-reviewed research.

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
• Web of Science

Subjects & Keywords

Journal’s research areas, covering key disciplines and specialized sub-topics in Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences, designed to support cutting-edge academic discovery.

Licensing & Copyright

This journal operates under an Open Access model. Articles are freely accessible to the public immediately upon publication. The content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing users to share and adapt the work with proper attribution.

Copyright remains with the author(s), and no permission is required for non-commercial use, provided the original source is cited.

Policy Links

This section provides access to essential policy documents, guidelines, and resources related to the journal’s publication and submission processes.

• Aims scope
• Homepage
• Oa statement
• Author instructions
• License terms
• Review url
• Board url
• Copyright url
• Preservation url
• Apc url
• License

APC Details

The journal’s Article Processing Charge (APC) policies support open access publishing in Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences, ensuring accessibility and quality in research dissemination.

This journal does not charge a mandatory Article Processing Charge (APC). However, optional open access publication may incur fees based on the publisher’s policies.

Explore journals without APCs for alternative publishing options.

Most Cited Articles

The Most Cited Articles section features the journal's most impactful research, based on citation counts. These articles have been referenced frequently by other researchers, indicating their significant contribution to their respective fields.

• The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Central and Eastern Europe

  Citation: 92

  Authors: Petra

• The Populism/Anti-Populism Divide in Western Europe

  Citation: 85

  Authors: Benjamin

• Is There a Crisis of Democracy?

  Citation: 66

  Authors: Wolfgang

• The Crisis of Democracy: Which Crisis? Which Democracy?

  Citation: 59

  Authors: Selen A., Jean-Paul

• Solidarity in Times of Pandemics

  Citation: 51

  Authors: Barbara

• How Will the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Democracy?

  Citation: 39

  Authors: Lauri, Inga

• The Contemporary Crisis of Representative Democracy

  Citation: 32

  Authors: Simon

• Democracy in a Global Emergency

  Citation: 31

  Authors: Afsoun, Emily, Rikki, Selen A., Jean-Paul

• Who Governs in Deep Crises?

  Citation: 31

  Authors: Wolfgang

• What is populism? Who is the populist?

  Citation: 29

  Authors: Jean-Paul, Emily, Kyong-Min, Cleve, Pierrick, Callum N.