Lectio Socialis is an international, double-blind peer-reviewed, open-access journal of political science. Its aim is to provide an independent, scholar-led platform for high-quality, English-language research on power, governance, institutions, and political behavior in contemporary societies and, through a continuous-publication model, to make that research available rapidly to a global readership of researchers, students, and policy analysts.

From 2026, Lectio Socialis focuses specifically on political science, with an emphasis on transformative political inquiry: rigorous, evidence-based scholarship that examines structural inequalities, the conditions for inclusive and accountable governance, and the politics of social and policy change. While committed to this focus, the journal upholds methodological pluralism and open scholarly debate, and it welcomes well-argued work from a range of theoretical and empirical perspectives.

The journal’s primary focus is political science and its major subfields, including political theory, comparative politics, and international relations, with attention to the analysis of power, institutions, and political behavior across diverse socio-economic and regional contexts. It is open to qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research and particularly welcomes work in the following areas:

–   The politics of global challenges, including gender politics (such as gender-based violence and equity) and environmental governance (the politics and policy of climate change).

–   Political economy and social equity — the interplay between economic structures and political outcomes, including poverty, inequality, and social justice.

–   Inclusive governance and public policy — institutional designs and political processes that strengthen democratic participation and address the needs of marginalized or underrepresented groups.

While centered on political science, the journal encourages interdisciplinary work that connects with public administration and economics and that draws on history, philosophy, or sociology, provided the contribution maintains a clear link to political science. Submissions that fall outside political science, or that are descriptive or applied work without a clear analytical and political-science contribution, are outside the journal’s scope.

The journal publishes two article types:

1.   Original research articles presenting new empirical findings or theoretical contributions, using rigorous qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods.

2.   Review articles that synthesize the current literature, identify research gaps, and propose future directions in political science.