International Theory

Aims & Scope

International Theory (IT) is a peer reviewed journal which promotes theoretical scholarship about the positive, legal, and normative aspects of world politics respectively.

IT is open to theory of absolutely all varieties and from all disciplines, provided it addresses problems of politics, broadly defined and pertains to the international.

IT welcomes scholarship that uses evidence from the real world to advance theoretical arguments.

However, IT is intended as a forum where scholars can develop theoretical arguments in depth without an expectation of extensive empirical analysis.

IT’s over-arching goal is to promote communication and engagement across theoretical and disciplinary traditions.

IT puts a premium on contributors’ ability to reach as broad an audience as possible, both in the questions they engage and in their accessibility to other approaches.

This might be done by addressing problems that can only be understood by combining multiple disciplinary discourses, like institutional design, or practical ethics; or by addressing phenomena that have broad ramifications, like civilizing processes in world politics, or the evolution of environmental norms.

IT is also open to work that remains within one scholarly tradition, although in that case authors must make clear the horizon of their arguments in relation to other theoretical approaches.

View Aims & Scope

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Metrics & Ranking

Impact Factor

Year	Value
2025	2.1
2024	2.20

Journal Rank

Year	Value
2024	6146

Journal Citation Indicator

Year	Value
2024	179

SJR (SCImago Journal Rank)

Year	Value
2024	0.856

Quartile

Year	Value
2024	Q1

h-index

Year	Value
2024	43

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Abstracting & Indexing

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

• Scopus
• Google Scholar
• Web of Science

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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.

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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.

• International practices

  Citation: 556

  Authors: Emanuel, Vincent

• International authority and its politicization

  Citation: 335

  Authors: Michael, Martin, Matthias

• Theorizing emotions in world politics

  Citation: 263

  Authors: Emma, Roland

• Feeling like a state: social emotion and identity

  Citation: 193

  Authors: Jonathan

• Respect and disrespect in international politics: the significance of status recognition

  Citation: 172

  Authors: Reinhard

• Institutionalizing passion in world politics: fear and empathy

  Citation: 150

  Authors: Neta C.

• Anxiety, fear, and ontological security in world politics: thinking with and beyond Giddens

  Citation: 132

  Authors: Catarina, Jennifer

• The boundary problem in democratic theory: why the demos should be bounded by the state

  Citation: 124

  Authors: Sarah

• Multistakeholderism: anatomy of an inchoate global institution

  Citation: 122

  Authors: Mark, Laura

• Brokering change: networks and entrepreneurs in international politics

  Citation: 107

  Authors: Stacie E.

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