The latest edition of the Journal Citation Reports (Clarivate, 2025) brings very positive news for the University of Defence’s journal Defence & Strategy, published by the Centre for Security and Military-Strategic Studies (CBVSS). The journal has been newly ranked in the 3rd quartile (Q3) in the category International Relations. At the same time, its Impact Factor has once again increased, now reaching 0.6.

According to current data, Defence & Strategy is ranked 125th out of 169 journals in International Relations (26.3 percentile) and 244th out of 322 journals in Political Science (24.4 percentile).

The year-on-year increase of the Impact Factor from 0.3 to 0.6 reflects not only a growing number of citations, but also the fact that published texts are being read and used within the academic community. We believe that this progress will stimulate greater interest among new authors in publishing in our journal.

In addition to the Impact Factor, the Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) also shows a positive trend. JCI is used to assess journal citation performance across all scientific fields. Unlike the Impact Factor, which measures the average number of citations per article over the previous two years, JCI normalizes citations by discipline, allowing comparisons across journals from different areas. The JCI value for Defence & Strategy in the International Relations category has risen from 5.56 (2021) to the current 17.46 (2024). This growth demonstrates not only an increase in citations, but also a rising significance of the journal in relation to other titles in the field.

We extend our gratitude for this positive development primarily to our authors, reviewers, and editorial board, whose expertise, commitment, and cooperation are indispensable for the journal’s continued advancement.

Author: Editorial Board of Defence & Strategy