The Journal of State Democracy (JSD) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics. We adhere to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and strive to ensure the integrity and quality of the scientific literature we publish. This guide outlines our ethical expectations for all parties involved in the publication process: authors, reviewers, and editors.

Authors' Responsibilities

• Originality and Plagiarism: Submissions must be the author's original work. Plagiarism in any form including reproducing text, data, or ideas without proper acknowledgment is a serious ethical violation and will result in the immediate rejection of the manuscript. Authors must properly cite all sources used.

• Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously. Furthermore, submitting a manuscript that has already been published in another journal is a breach of ethics.

• Data Accuracy: Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of all data and research results presented in their manuscripts. Fabricated or manipulated data is strictly prohibited. If asked, authors must be prepared to provide the raw data associated with their submission for editorial review.

• Authorship: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All listed authors must have approved the final manuscript and its submission for publication. All individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the acknowledgments section.

• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Authors must disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed as influencing the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed in the manuscript.

Reviewers' Responsibilities

• Confidentiality: Reviewers must treat the manuscript they are reviewing as a confidential document. They should not share information from the manuscript with anyone or use the ideas from the submitted work for personal or professional gain.

• Objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments and avoid making derogatory or biased comments.

• Timeliness and Disclosure: Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if they feel unqualified to assess the research, if they cannot complete the review in the requested time frame, or if they have a conflict of interest.

• Identifying Published Work: Reviewers should bring to the editor's attention any significant resemblance or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Editors' Responsibilities

• Fair Play and Confidentiality: Editors must evaluate manuscripts based solely on their academic merit, without regard to the author's race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. Editors and editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, and potential reviewers.

• Publication Decisions: The editor is solely responsible for deciding which manuscripts submitted to the journal will be published. This decision is based on the manuscript's importance, originality, clarity, and relevance to the journal's scope, as well as the review comments.

• Conflicts of Interest: Editors must recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

• Handling Ethical Complaints: JSD will take appropriate action when ethical concerns are raised regarding a submitted manuscript or a published paper. This includes a thorough investigation of the allegations and, if necessary, the publication of an erratum, a clarification, or, in severe cases, the retraction of the paper.

By following these principles, we can collectively ensure the integrity and credibility of the research published in the Journal of State Democracy.