About the Journal
Focus and Scope
Afrika Focus provides a multidisciplinary forum for the study of Africa. It accepts scientific contributions dealing with current trends and new developments in this field. The articles should be based on original research and should promote interdisciplinary communication, also for the benefit of education. The editorial committee decides on acceptance following international and double-blind peer-review. Afrika Focus publishes papers in two languages: English and French. Apart from papers, the journal publishes research, fieldwork and conference reports, and book reviews. Reports should be no longer than 5000 words and they should adhere to the general guidelines for authors (including abstract, key words and reference list). Reports are not peer-reviewed.
Afrika Focus does not involve article processing charges nor article submission charges.
Peer Review Process
The review process of the journal Afrika Focus takes place according to the following procedure:
1. Before submission, authors are requested to consult the journal’s guidelines for authors. Authors are encouraged to bear in mind that Afrika Focus is a multidisciplinary journal with an academically and geographically diverse audience.
2. After finalizing their paper according to these guidelines, authors submit their manuscripts by sending an email to Annelies.Verdoolaege@ugent.be
3. Authors will be sent acknowledgement of receipt of the submission.
4. The paper will be pre-reviewed by one of the editors-in-chief and within a few days this editor-in-chief decides whether a submitted paper satisfies the journal’s criteria for review. If the paper does not comply with the criteria of the journal, the author(s) will receive a message with arguments for rejection and, if possible, a helpful recommendation for submission elsewhere.
5. When the article is accepted for review, the editor-in-chief selects three peer reviewers with an international publication record, upon which these reviewers will receive the paper and a standard evaluation form (an initial deadline of 4 weeks will be set).
6. Depending on the reviewers and the paper, reviews may take between a few days and two months. The average review time of a paper is one month.
7. After one month, reviewers who have not yet sent a review will be reminded to send their review as soon as possible.
8. In case a reviewer has requested more time, the author(s) will be kept informed of the delay.
9. Reviewers decide whether a paper admitted to the review process is to be rejected, resubmitted or accepted by filling in the evaluation form. Accepted papers are commonly recommended to undergo a list of well-determined revisions. These qualify as ‘minor changes’. Resubmission applies to papers attracting the reviewers yet requiring major amendments.
10. Authors will be informed about the decision of the reviewer(s), they will be sent a copy of the review, and - if the paper is accepted - instructions for the preparation of the next draft version.
11. Papers that have to be resubmitted are being evaluated as if they were new submissions; this usually happens by the same reviewer(s). This/these reviewer/s check/s whether the required alterations have been implemented and whether the end result can be accepted.
12. Final versions of accepted papers should be sent to the journal once more, together with a filled out, printed, signed and scanned Publishing Agreement. The author(s) will receive immediately acknowledgement of receipt of the final version.
13. The review process ends with a concluding reading of the paper by one of the editors-in-chief for a final check-up; the author(s) will receive acknowledgement of receipt of the final version.
14. Papers that have been accepted are usually published in the journal issue appearing between 4 and 6 months after acceptance. This means that there is a waiting list of several months before papers/issues are being sent to the publisher.
15. Each author receives a PDF of the final version of the article.
16. Depending on the speed of the review and of the revision by the authors, as well as on the number of papers on the waiting list, total time between submission and publication of the papers may range between 6 and 12 months.
Publication Frequency
Afrika Focus is publiced twice a year - one issue in June and one in December.
In addition, extra special online issues can be added to these two regular issues.
Open Access Policy
Afrika Focus is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author.
Copyright Notice for authors
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:· Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike License (
) that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.· Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
