ASIAC

ASIAC promotes knowledge exchange on Central Asia and the Caucasus. The association is targeted at scholars, universities, and other cultural institutions, and promotes meetings among researchers and the coordination of research activities on Central Asia and the Caucasus. ASIAC is open to exchange with practitioners, humanitarian workers, and economic actors working in the region, Ministries and other government agencies involved in cultural, political, or diplomatic activities, as well as media organisations interested in opinions and background information on current events.

Focus

In line with the multidisciplinarity of area studies, the journal will publish contributions from numerous research traditions that span the humanities and social sciences. It will therefore include research papers from disciplines such as history, archaeology, philology, linguistics, literary studies, politics and international studies, sociology, anthropology, and human geography, among others.

Submission

The journal primarily promotes and advances academic debates on Central Asia and the Caucasus stemming from ASIAC's annual conference and related events. Hence, the journal will only publish invited contributions, including in particular papers presented at ASIAC's conference following dedicated open calls. For information on how to join the debate please have a look at ASIAC's website and consider subscribing to our mailing list for updates. For more details or further questions, please write to info@asiac.net.

Sections

The journal is composed of a monographic and an open section. The monographic section explores a specific topic that is relevant to both the Caucasus and Central Asia through a variety of disciplinary approaches. The open section presents the latest research on these regions, including both theoretical and empirical articles that advance our scholarly understanding of the Caucasus and Central Asia and contribute to ongoing academic debates.

Funding and Ethics

To ensure transparency, authors are required to specify funding sources and detail requirements for ethical research in the submitted manuscript (see Author Guidelines). All authors must confirm that they fit the definition of an author (see Authorship Guidelines), during submission.

Corrections and Retractions

In accordance with guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (where applicable), the Press handles different kinds of error. All articles have their proofs checked prior to publication by the author/editor, which should ensure that content errors are not present. Please contact the journal if you believe an article needs correcting.

Post-publication changes to the publication are not permitted unless in exceptional circumstances. If an error is discovered in a published article then the publisher will assess whether a Correction paper or Retraction is required. Visit our Correction Policy page for more information.

Misconduct and Complaints

Allegations of misconduct will be taken with utmost seriousness, regardless of whether those involved are internal or external to the journal, or whether the submission in question is pre- or post-publication. If an allegation of misconduct is made to the journal, it must be immediately passed on to the publisher, who will follow guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) on how to address the nature of the problem. Should the matter involve allegations against a member of the journal or publishing team, an independent and objective individual(s) may be sought to lead the investigation. Where misconduct is proven or strongly suspected, the journal has an obligation to report the issue to the author's institution, who may conduct their own investigation. This applies to both research misconduct (e.g. completing research without ethical approval and consent, fabricating or falsifying data etc) and publication misconduct (e.g. manipulating the peer review process, plagiarism etc). Should an investigation conclude that misconduct or misinformation has occurred then the author, along with their institution, will be notified. Should the publication record need to be corrected, the journal's correction policy will be followed.

Should an author wish to lodge a complaint against an editorial decision, or the editorial process in general, they should first approach the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, explaining their complaint and ask for a reasoned response. Should this not be adequate, the author should raise the matter with the publisher, who will investigate the nature of the complaint and act as arbiter on whether the complaint should be upheld and investigated further. This will follow guidelines set out by COPE.