About the Journal

Politikon: The IAPSS Journal of Political Science (ISSN [online] 2414-6633)  is an open access peer-reviewed academic journal published by the International Association for Political Science Students (IAPSS). Founded in 2001, the journal publishes original research across all major subfields of political science and is committed to supporting the professional development of early-career researchers alongside established scholars.

All submissions, regardless of the author's career stage, undergo the same double-blind peer review process. The journal combines independent peer review with a developmental editorial approach, providing editorial guidance and professional copy-editing to support authors throughout the publication process while maintaining consistent editorial standards.

Politikon publishes two regular issues each year and accepts submissions on a rolling basis. The journal also publishes special issues on timely themes in political science. Proposals for special issues are welcome, and prospective guest editors are invited to contact the Editor-in-Chief.

As a diamond open access journal, Politikon charges no submission, processing, or publication fees. All published content is freely accessible worldwide under an open licence, supporting the widest possible dissemination of research.

Current Issue

Vol. 27 No. 2 (2026)
View Vol. 27 No. 2 (2026)

This issue brings together three research contributions and two book reviews spanning institutional design, media representation, and diaspora politics. Christopher Ebikebena traces twenty-five years of Nigerian electoral technology, arguing that biometric innovations have displaced rather than resolved fraud, generating a "trust paradox" that culminated in the 2023 IReV crisis. Hasta Aisyah Trida Pramita and Dwi Ardhanariswari Sundrijo apply a postcolonial lens to a German documentary on child jockeys in Sumbawa, showing how visual framing and production context marginalise Indonesian perspectives. Vasili Ioannidis extends hold-up problem theory to EU enlargement, using the North Macedonia–Bulgaria dispute to show how unanimity and multiple decision points incentivise Member States to extract bilateral concessions from candidate states. The issue closes with reviews of a North Korean diplomat's insider testimony and a journalistic account of elite Russian emigration since 2022, both probing how authoritarian systems shape those who serve, flee, or defect from them.

Published: 2026-07-28

Full Issue

Research articles

Research notes

  • Framing the Global South Through Film Postcolonial Representation of Indonesia in Riders of Destiny

    Hasta Aisyah Trida Pramita, Dwi Ardhanariswari Sundrijo
    27-41
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.27.2.2

  • Bilateral Disputes and Hold-Up Problems in EU Enlargement A Case Study of North Macedonia and Bulgaria

    Vasili J. Ioannidis
    42-57
    DOI: https://doi.org/10.22151/politikon.27.2.3

Book reviews

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