JCPA Mission: Aims & Scope

The Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice ( JCPA ) has pioneered comparative policy studies since 1998 and is the only explicitly comparative journal of policy analytic studies. It aims to stimulate the intellectual development of comparative policy studies and the growth of an international community of scholars who research the challenges and benefits of global inter- and intra-policy making.

The JCPA is published six times per year, is double-blind peer reviewed, and adheres to the highest quality of scholarship. It is indexed in Thomson Reuters SSCI as well as in five other main abstracts/indices.

The JCPA is affiliated with the Scholarly Society for International Comparative Policy Analysis Forum (ICPA-Forum) scholarly association and serves as a publication avenue for several international research groups.

The JCPA invites manuscripts that make a significant contribution to the theory, methodology and empirical analysis of comparative policy studies as well as their relation to public affairs, administration and management. Submissions need not necessarily compare two social units but address the aims and scope of the journal.

The JCPA published scholarship aims to capture differences or similarities in policy issues as well as the role of comparative policy analysis both within and between social units. It contributes to:

• comparative theory development
• comparative theory testing
• comparative methodology development
• the evaluation of comparative research methods
• comparative empirical policy research
• the practice implications of comparative public policy
• lesson-drawing and extrapolation

Criteria: The JCPA gives priority to comparative studies and expects submissions to reflect the Aims and Scope of the journal.

Interdisciplinarity: The JCPA encourages interdisciplinary publications.
Policy domains: are open to policy research enhanced in, e.g., immigration, health care, environment and climate change, education, security or human rights, welfare, transportation, bio-technology, among other areas.
Functionally: articles may address research methods, public finance and budgeting, administrative reform, performance measurement, among other areas.

The JCPA welcomes submissions to each of the following sections: Policy Innovation, Comparative Policy Statistics and Analytics, Dialogue, Debates and Controversies, Comparative Syllabi and Book Reviews.

The JCPA welcomes proposals for Special Symposia Issues on a variety of topics and disciplines. Please visit our Special Symposia Issues page at https://comparativepolicy.org/journal-of-comparative-policy-analysis/special-issues-guest-editor-guidelines/

The JCPA Annual Award for the Best Comparative Article:  The JCPA, ICPA-Forum and Routledge extend the award for the Best Article in the JCPA.

The JCPA Annual Award for the Best Comparative Paper: The JCPA, ICPA-Forum and Routledge extend the award and opportunity to publish in the JCPA to adjudicated papers presented at conferences of the following international associations: APPAM, APSA, IPSA, FPSA, INPAE, MPSA, NASPAA, NISPAcee.

Authors can choose to publish gold open access in this journal.

Read the Instructions for Authors for information on how to submit your article.