Submissions

Author Guidelines

Journal of Advancing Global Order, Regions, and Antiquity (J-AGORA) welcomes original, high-quality submissions that advance scholarship in global governance, regional studies, history, archaeology, heritage, international relations, political science, sociology, public policy, and related interdisciplinary fields. The journal encourages theoretically grounded, empirically rigorous, historically informed, and policy-relevant research that contributes to academic knowledge and evidence-based decision-making. All manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by any other journal.

1. Scope and Focus

Journal of Advancing Global Order, Regions, and Antiquity (J-AGORA) is an international, peer-reviewed, open-access scholarly journal dedicated to advancing original, high-quality, and interdisciplinary research across the humanities and social sciences. The journal provides a global platform for the publication of rigorous theoretical, empirical, historical, and policy-oriented scholarship that examines the dynamic relationships among global governance, regional transformations, and historical civilizations.

The journal's scope is organized around three interconnected pillars:

• Global Order: Political science, international relations, global governance, diplomacy, public administration, constitutional and international law, public policy, strategic studies, peace and conflict studies, security studies, political economy, international organizations, sustainable development, and contemporary global challenges.
• Regions: Regional and area studies, sociology, anthropology, development studies, cultural studies, migration, identity, social movements, gender studies, community development, urban and rural transformations, regional cooperation, and comparative studies, with particular emphasis on South Asia and the Global South.
• Antiquity: Ancient, medieval, and modern history, historiography, archaeology, heritage studies, archival research, historical geography, epigraphy, numismatics, museum studies, historical conservation, and the preservation and interpretation of cultural heritage.

J-AGORA encourages interdisciplinary and comparative research that connects historical perspectives with contemporary political, social, economic, legal, and cultural developments. The journal particularly welcomes studies that explore the historical foundations of institutions and societies, regional identities and transformations, governance and public policy, diplomacy and international cooperation, heritage preservation, and the evolving interactions between local, regional, and global processes.

The journal publishes original research articles, review articles, conceptual and theoretical papers, policy analyses, case studies, book reviews, and interdisciplinary research that contribute to academic debate and practical policymaking. Manuscripts employing qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods, historical, comparative, archival, and digital humanities approaches are welcome.

J-AGORA is committed to promoting academic excellence, intellectual diversity, methodological rigor, and ethical research practices. By fostering international scholarly collaboration and interdisciplinary dialogue, the journal seeks to generate knowledge that contributes to sustainable governance, regional cooperation, cultural understanding, historical preservation, social justice, and evidence-based public policy.

As a fully Open Access journal, J-AGORA ensures that all published articles are freely and permanently accessible immediately upon publication, maximizing the visibility, dissemination, and global impact of scholarly research. The journal publishes two issues annually (January and July) and welcomes submissions from researchers, academics, policymakers, practitioners, heritage professionals, and postgraduate scholars worldwide.

2. Manuscript Types and Requirements

3. Submission Process

Author(s) are required to submit the following documents along with their manuscript:

1. Author Declaration and Copyright Agreement Form
   • Fill out the form online via this link: Author Declaration & Copyright Form.
   • After completing, print or save as a PDF and upload this form during your manuscript submission.
2. Manuscript File (Anonymised)
   • The manuscript must be anonymised. Remove all identifying information before submission.

4. Manuscript Preparation

There are no strict formatting requirements at the initial submission stage. However, all manuscripts must contain the essential elements required to evaluate the submission, including: title, abstract, author affiliations (submitted separately for double-blind review), figures, tables, funding information, and references. Further formatting and structural details may be requested upon acceptance.

General Requirements:

• Language: English only. Non-native speakers are strongly encouraged to have their manuscripts professionally proofread before submission.
• File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx)
• Font & Spacing: Times New Roman, 12 pt, 1.5 line spacing, A4 page size, 2.5 cm margins all sides
• Referencing Style: APA 7th Edition (strict adherence required)
• ORCiD: All authors are strongly encouraged to provide their ORCiD iD

Structure of the Manuscript (anonymized version):

• Title

• Abstract (150–250 words; structured or unstructured)

• Keywords (5–8)

• Main Text (use appropriate headings; see below)

• References

• Tables & Figures (embedded or at end, editable format)

• Declarations (Funding, Conflicts of Interest, Ethical Approval, AI Usage – see below)

Recommended Headings for Empirical/Theoretical Manuscripts:

• • Title
  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Literature Review / Theoretical Framework
  • Research Questions or Objectives
  • Methodology
  • Findings / Results
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Practical, Policy, or Scholarly Implications
  • Limitations
  • Future Research
  • References

5. Declarations

Author(s) Contributions

For manuscripts with multiple authors, a brief statement outlining individual contributions is required. Use the following format:

“Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; methodology, X.X.; software, X.X.; validation, X.X., Y.Y., and Z.Z.; formal analysis, X.X.; investigation, X.X.; resources, X.X.; data curation, X.X.; writing—original draft preparation, X.X.; writing—review and editing, X.X.; visualization, X.X.; supervision, X.X.; project administration, X.X.; funding acquisition, Y.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.”

If AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, etc.) were used during manuscript preparation for language editing, summarization, or formatting assistance, a statement also must be included. Example:

“The authors used [AI tool name] for [brief description of use, e.g., grammar correction or paraphrasing]. All content was reviewed and verified by the authors.”

Funding Information

If the research received financial support, state the funding source(s). If no external funding was received, include:

“This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.”

Availability of Data and Materials

Include a statement about the accessibility of the data supporting the findings. Example:

“The data supporting this study are available upon request. The data are stored in [e.g., institutional repository, Google Drive] and can be provided to interested parties.”

Conflict of Interest

Disclose any financial or personal relationships that could influence the work. If none, use:

“The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.”

Clinical Trial Registration (if applicable)

Provide the trial registration number if applicable.

Ethical Approval and Consent to Participate

If ethical approval or consent was required, provide details. Otherwise, include:

“Ethical approval is required only for studies involving human participants, interviews, surveys, focus groups, indigenous communities, or other research requiring institutional ethical clearance. Historical, archival, documentary, policy, legal, and literature-based research generally does not require formal ethical approval unless otherwise mandated by institutional regulations.”

If no approval is required:

This study did not involve human participants or activities requiring formal ethical approval.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

Journal follows a transparent and responsible AI policy.

Permitted Uses (non-substantive only):

• Grammar, spelling, and style correction

• Paraphrasing for clarity

• Formatting assistance

• Brainstorming ideas or structure

Prohibited Uses:

• Generating substantive content, arguments, data analysis, or interpretations

• Creating new scientific claims or literature synthesis

Mandatory Disclosure:
If AI tools were used in any capacity, authors must include a clear statement in the manuscript (e.g., in Acknowledgements or a separate “AI Usage Disclosure” section):

“[Tool name(s), e.g., ChatGPT-4o, Grammarly] was used for [specific purpose, e.g., language polishing and sentence restructuring]. All content was reviewed, verified, and edited by the authors.”

Failure to disclose AI use may result in rejection or retraction.

6. Publication Schedule & Author Limits (Effective 2027)

• J-AGORA is published biannually in January and July.

• Rolling submissions are accepted throughout the year.

Publication Frequency Rule:
To ensure diversity of voices, an author (including co-authors) may publish only one article in each of the next two consecutive issues.

7. Peer Review Process

• All submissions (except invited commentaries) undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent experts.

• Average time to first editorial decision: 6–10 weeks, depending on reviewer availability.

• Full details: Visit Peer Review Policy 

8. Revisions

Revised manuscripts must include:

• Author Response Letter — point-by-point response to all reviewer/editor comments

• Revised Manuscript (Tracked Changes)

• Revised Manuscript (Clean Copy)

9. Article Processing Charges (APCs)

• No Article Processing Charges (APCs) are payable for manuscripts accepted for publication in Volume 1 and 2 (2026). Publication costs during the inaugural volume are fully supported by Synergy Publication. Any future APC policy will be announced on the journal website before implementation See Payment policy

10. Open Access & Copyright

• J-AGORA is a fully Gold Open Access journal.

• All published articles are immediately and permanently available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

• Authors retain copyright while granting the publisher the right to publish the work.

• Post-publication, authors agree not to submit the same work (or substantially similar version) elsewhere without prior written permission from the Editor-in-Chief.

11. Authorship & Ethical Responsibilities

• Authorship follows ICMJE/COPE criteria/PNAS standards.(substantial contribution + drafting/revising + final approval + accountability).

• Include Author Contributions statement (CRediT taxonomy preferred). Authors may provide either:

  • A free-text statement, e.g.:
    All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by [name], [name], and [name]. The first draft was written by [name], and all authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript.

  • Or a CRediT taxonomy format:
    J-AGORA encourages the use of the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to describe each author's contribution. Alternatively, authors may provide a concise narrative statement describing individual contributions.

• Disclose funding, conflicts of interest, and ethical approvals

• Ensure data integrity and transparency

• Declare any AI usage (see Section 5 above)

• Authors are fully responsible for originality, accuracy, plagiarism prevention (<10% similarity per UGC guidelines), and ethical compliance.

• Changes to authorship after submission (addition, removal, or reordering of authors) are not allowed after acceptance and should be avoided during peer review unless justified. Any change requests during the review stage must:

  • Be explained in a formal letter.

  • Be approved by all co-authors and the Editor-in-Chief.

  • Include confirmation that all authors agree to the change.

12. Disclaimer