Publication Ethic

PUBLICATION ETHIC

The Journal of International Issues in the Global South (JIIGS) is a peer-reviewed academic journal managed by the International Relations Laboratory and published by Universitas Sulawesi Barat. JIIGS is committed to maintaining high standards of academic integrity, transparency, fairness, and ethical practices in scholarly publishing.

This Publication Ethics statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher involved in the publication process. The journal’s publication ethics and editorial practices are guided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishingdeveloped by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, and WAME.

The publication of scholarly work contributes to the development and dissemination of reliable academic knowledge. Therefore, all parties involved in the publication process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher are expected to uphold ethical standards and responsible scholarly practices.

This Publication Ethics statement outlines the ethical responsibilities of all parties involved in the publication process of JIIGS and is guided by generally accepted principles of publication ethics and best practices in scholarly publishing.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of original research should present an accurate and objective account of the research conducted and discuss the significance of their findings appropriately. The manuscript should contain sufficient information, evidence, and references to enable readers to understand and evaluate the research and, where applicable, verify or replicate the study.

Fabrication, falsification, manipulation of data, or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical publishing behaviour and are unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts represent original scholarly work. If authors use the ideas, data, words, or materials of others, these must be appropriately acknowledged, cited, or quoted.

Plagiarism in any form, including unattributed copying, inappropriate paraphrasing, or substantial duplication of previously published material, constitutes unethical publishing behaviour and is unacceptable.

Submitted manuscripts may be subject to plagiarism screening as part of the editorial process.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

Authors should not submit the same manuscript simultaneously to more than one journal. Manuscripts describing substantially the same research should not be published in more than one journal or primary publication without appropriate justification and disclosure.

Submitting the same or substantially similar manuscript to multiple journals at the same time constitutes unethical publishing behaviour.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must appropriately acknowledge the work of others that has contributed to or influenced their research. Relevant publications, data sources, theories, concepts, and other scholarly materials should be properly cited in accordance with academic standards.

Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made significant scholarly contributions to the conception, design, execution, analysis, or interpretation of the research.

All individuals who have made substantial contributions should be appropriately listed as authors. Other individuals who have contributed to specific aspects of the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all listed authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Data Accuracy, Access, and Retention

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the data presented in their manuscripts. Where relevant and ethically permissible, authors may be requested to provide supporting research data for editorial or verification purposes.

Authors should retain relevant research data for a reasonable period following publication. Data sharing is encouraged where appropriate but may be restricted to protect confidentiality, privacy, participant safety, legal obligations, intellectual property, or other legitimate ethical considerations.

Research Ethics and Human Participants

Research involving human participants, including interviews, surveys, focus groups, observations, or other forms of primary data collection, must be conducted in accordance with applicable ethical standards.

Where required, authors should obtain appropriate ethical approval and informed consent. Authors are responsible for protecting the privacy, confidentiality, dignity, safety, and rights of research participants, particularly when research involves vulnerable individuals, communities, or politically sensitive contexts.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing the research, findings, or interpretation presented in the manuscript.

All relevant sources of research funding and institutional support should be clearly acknowledged.

Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, integrity, and appropriate attribution of all content submitted to JIIGS, including content developed with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

AI tools must not be listed as authors because they cannot assume responsibility or accountability for scholarly work. Where generative AI or AI-assisted technologies have been substantially used in the preparation or development of a manuscript, their use should be transparently disclosed where appropriate.

The use of AI must not compromise research integrity, confidentiality, originality, intellectual property, or compliance with the journal’s ethical standards.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they must promptly notify the journal editor and cooperate with the editorial team to correct or, where necessary, retract the article.

Duties of Editors

Fair and Impartial Evaluation

Editors shall evaluate submitted manuscripts based on their academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, contribution to scholarship, and alignment with the focus and scope of JIIGS.

Editorial decisions must not be influenced by the authors’ race, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, political views, institutional affiliation, or other personal characteristics unrelated to the scholarly merit of the manuscript.

JIIGS welcomes diverse theoretical, methodological, geographical, and epistemological perspectives, particularly scholarship engaging with international issues and perspectives concerning the Global South.

Editorial Independence

Editors shall maintain editorial independence in making decisions concerning submitted manuscripts. Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly and ethical considerations and should not be improperly influenced by institutional, financial, political, personal, or other non-academic interests.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and information related to the editorial and peer-review process.

Information concerning a submitted manuscript should only be disclosed to the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, members of the editorial team, or other parties directly involved in the publication process when necessary.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Editors must not use unpublished information, data, or ideas contained in submitted manuscripts for their own research or personal advantage without the explicit permission of the authors.

Editors should not handle manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality.

Publication Decisions

The editorial team is responsible for determining which manuscripts are suitable for publication in JIIGS.

Publication decisions should be based on the manuscript’s academic quality, originality, relevance to the journal’s focus and scope, contribution to scholarship, peer-review reports, and compliance with ethical and legal requirements.

Editors may consult reviewers and other members of the editorial board when making publication decisions.

Peer-Review Process

Editors are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts considered for publication undergo an appropriate, fair, and confidential peer-review process in accordance with the journal’s peer-review policy.

Reviewers should be selected based on their relevant academic expertise. Editors should avoid selecting reviewers who have conflicts of interest that may compromise the fairness and integrity of the review process.

Research Integrity and Ethical Concerns

Editors shall take reasonable steps to address suspected cases of plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, unethical research practices, or other forms of research and publication misconduct.

Where credible ethical concerns arise regarding a submitted or published article, the editorial team shall assess the matter fairly and take appropriate action.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists editors in making informed editorial decisions and may also help authors improve the quality, clarity, and scholarly contribution of their manuscripts.

Reviewers are expected to provide constructive and academically relevant feedback that supports the integrity and quality of the publication process.

Competence and Promptness

Any reviewer who considers themselves insufficiently qualified to evaluate a manuscript or is unable to complete the review within the requested timeframe should promptly inform the editor and decline the review invitation.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively, fairly, and professionally. Reviewers should express their assessments clearly and provide appropriate scholarly reasoning or supporting arguments.

Personal criticism, discriminatory remarks, hostile language, or comments unrelated to the scholarly quality of the manuscript are inappropriate and unacceptable.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Reviewers must not share, reproduce, distribute, or discuss submitted manuscripts with others without prior authorisation from the editor.

Information or ideas obtained through the peer-review process must not be used for personal, professional, or academic advantage.

Reviewers must also exercise caution when using AI-assisted technologies and must not upload confidential manuscripts or unpublished manuscript content to AI systems where doing so could compromise confidentiality, privacy, intellectual property, or research integrity.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, institutional, financial, professional, personal, or other relationships with the authors or institutions associated with the manuscript.

Reviewers should decline to evaluate manuscripts where such conflicts could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, their impartiality.

Acknowledgement of Sources and Ethical Concerns

Reviewers should identify relevant scholarly work that has not been appropriately acknowledged where this is important to the manuscript.

Reviewers should also inform the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under review and other published or submitted work of which they are aware.

Any concerns regarding possible plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, unethical research practices, or other forms of academic misconduct should be communicated confidentially to the editor.

Duties of the Publisher

Universitas Sulawesi Barat, as the publisher of the Journal of International Issues in the Global South (JIIGS), is committed to supporting the integrity, independence, and sustainability of the journal’s scholarly publishing process.

The publisher respects the editorial independence of JIIGS and shall not improperly interfere with editorial decisions concerning the acceptance or rejection of manuscripts on the basis of institutional, financial, political, or other non-academic interests.

The publisher supports the editorial team in maintaining appropriate standards of publication ethics, academic integrity, transparency, and responsible scholarly publishing.

Where allegations of research or publication misconduct arise, the publisher may work with the editorial team and relevant institutional authorities to ensure that such matters are addressed fairly and appropriately.

Publication Misconduct

JIIGS does not tolerate research or publication misconduct, including but not limited to plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate authorship, undisclosed conflicts of interest, manipulation of the peer-review process, or other practices that compromise the integrity of scholarly publication.

When potential misconduct is identified, the editorial team will assess the matter fairly and may request clarification or supporting information from the parties involved. Appropriate action will be taken based on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Corrections and Retractions

JIIGS is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

When significant errors or ethical concerns are identified after publication, the journal may issue an appropriate correction, clarification, expression of concern, or retraction, depending on the nature and severity of the issue.

Corrections may be issued when an error affects part of an article but does not invalidate its main findings or scholarly contribution. Retraction may be considered when there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, the article contains substantial plagiarism, serious research or publication misconduct has occurred, or other circumstances fundamentally compromise the integrity of the publication.

Where appropriate, notices of corrections or retractions will be clearly linked to the original published article to preserve the transparency and integrity of the scholarly record.

Complaints and Appeals

Authors, reviewers, readers, or other parties may raise concerns regarding editorial procedures, publication decisions, ethical issues, or other matters related to the journal’s publication process.

Complaints and appeals will be considered fairly, objectively, and confidentially by the editorial team. Where a complaint or appeal involves an individual responsible for the original decision, the matter should, where reasonably possible, be reviewed by another appropriate member of the editorial team to minimise conflicts of interest.

An appeal against an editorial decision does not automatically guarantee reconsideration or acceptance of a manuscript. Decisions following the appropriate review of an appeal shall be considered final.

Commitment to Publication Ethics

JIIGS is committed to continuously improving its editorial and publication practices in accordance with developments in internationally recognised principles of scholarly publishing.

The journal seeks to maintain a publication environment that promotes academic integrity, editorial independence, transparency, fairness, accountability, and respect for diverse scholarly perspectives in the study of international issues concerning the Global South.