Publication Ethics

International Relations is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Universitas Pendidikan Muhammadiyah Sorong (UNIMUDA Sorong). The journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all necessary measures to prevent publication malpractice. This statement outlines the ethical responsibilities and expected behavior of all parties involved in the publication process, including authors, editors, editorial board members, reviewers, and publishers.

This publication ethics statement is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. Our responsibility is to publish original and academically valuable research in the field of International Relations and related areas in accordance with high academic and ethical standards.

The journal expects honesty, originality, transparency, fairness, objectivity, confidentiality, and academic integrity from all authors, editors, and reviewers.

Allegations of Research Misconduct

Research misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, citation manipulation, and other forms of unethical practices in conducting, reviewing, or reporting research. Research misconduct may occur during the research process, manuscript preparation, peer review, or publication.

When allegations of research misconduct arise, the Editors and Editorial Board have a responsibility to investigate the matter carefully and ensure the integrity of the academic record.

In cases of suspected misconduct, the Editors and Editorial Board will follow appropriate COPE procedures to investigate the allegation fairly. A submitted manuscript found to contain serious research misconduct may be rejected. If misconduct is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

The initial investigation will assess the validity of the allegation and determine whether the reported conduct falls within the definition of research misconduct. The Editors will also consider any potential conflicts of interest involving the parties making or responding to the allegation.

If there is a reasonable possibility that research misconduct or another serious irregularity has occurred, the corresponding author will be given an opportunity to provide a detailed explanation on behalf of all authors. Additional assessment by independent experts may be conducted when necessary.

Authors, institutions, editors, and reviewers share responsibility for maintaining the accuracy, credibility, and integrity of academic publications in the field of International Relations.

Complaints and Appeals

International Relations provides a clear procedure for handling complaints and appeals concerning the journal, editorial staff, editorial board, reviewers, or publisher.

Complaints may concern matters related to the editorial and peer-review process, including allegations of plagiarism, citation manipulation, unfair editorial decisions, conflicts of interest, peer-review irregularities, or other violations of publication ethics.

All complaints and appeals will be handled fairly, transparently, and confidentially in accordance with applicable COPE guidelines.

Ethical Oversight

Research submitted to International Relations must comply with relevant ethical standards. Authors are responsible for identifying any ethical considerations associated with their research.

If research involves human participants, confidential information, interviews, surveys, fieldwork, or other sensitive sources of information, authors must ensure that appropriate ethical procedures are followed.

Authors must respect the privacy, confidentiality, safety, and rights of research participants. Where required, authors should obtain appropriate ethical clearance or informed consent from participants and/or relevant institutions.

For research involving sensitive political, diplomatic, security, or conflict-related information, authors must clearly explain how confidentiality and data protection have been maintained.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

The Editors of International Relations ensure that submitted manuscripts undergo an appropriate peer-review process by qualified reviewers with relevant expertise.

Publication decisions are based on the academic quality, originality, relevance, methodological soundness, theoretical contribution, and significance of the manuscript, as well as the comments and recommendations of reviewers.

The Editors may consult with members of the Editorial Board or reviewers when making publication decisions.

Fair Play

Editors evaluate manuscripts based solely on their academic and scholarly merit and their relevance to the scope of the journal.

Editors must not discriminate against authors based on race, gender, ethnic origin, citizenship, religious belief, political philosophy, institutional affiliation, or other personal characteristics.

Editorial decisions must be independent and based on academic standards rather than external political, institutional, or governmental interests.

Confidentiality

Editors and editorial staff must maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts.

Information concerning a submitted manuscript may only be disclosed to the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, editorial advisers, and publisher when appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Editors must not use unpublished information obtained from submitted manuscripts for their own research without the authors' explicit permission.

Editors must disclose and manage any conflicts of interest that may affect their editorial decisions. An editor should not handle a manuscript when there is a significant personal, professional, institutional, or academic conflict of interest.

Management of Unethical Behavior

Editors, together with the publisher, must take appropriate action when allegations of unethical publication behavior are reported.

All allegations should be investigated fairly and objectively, regardless of when the alleged misconduct occurred.

Appropriate actions may include requesting clarification, conducting further investigation, issuing corrections, publishing expressions of concern, or retracting an article when necessary.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of original research must present an accurate and objective account of their research, including the methodology, findings, and interpretation of results.

The manuscript should provide sufficient information and appropriate references to allow readers and other researchers to understand and, where applicable, reproduce the research.

Authors must not intentionally provide false, misleading, or fabricated information.

Data Access and Retention

Authors should be prepared to provide relevant research data to the Editors when reasonably requested for purposes of editorial evaluation or verification.

Authors should retain research data for a reasonable period following publication, subject to ethical, legal, confidentiality, and institutional requirements.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original works.

Any ideas, arguments, data, concepts, or words obtained from other sources must be properly acknowledged through appropriate citation and referencing.

Plagiarism in any form, including copying, substantial paraphrasing without attribution, self-plagiarism, or presenting another person's work as one's own, is considered unethical publication behavior and is unacceptable.

All submitted manuscripts may be checked using an appropriate plagiarism detection system.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

Authors should not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously.

Research that has already been substantially published elsewhere should not be submitted as a new original publication unless the submission provides a legitimate and clearly explained academic contribution.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Authors must properly acknowledge all sources that have significantly contributed to their research.

This includes academic publications, datasets, institutional reports, policy documents, interviews, official documents, and other relevant sources used in the research.

Information obtained privately through correspondence, interviews, discussions, or confidential sources should not be used without appropriate permission.

Authorship of the Paper

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

All individuals who have made substantial contributions should be appropriately acknowledged or listed as authors according to their contribution.

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

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, they should promptly notify the journal Editors or publisher.

Authors are expected to cooperate with the Editors in correcting or retracting the article when necessary.

Research Involving Human Participants

When research involves human participants, authors must ensure that the research complies with relevant ethical standards and institutional requirements.

Authors should obtain informed consent when required and protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants.

For research involving interviews, fieldwork, surveys, or sensitive political and social issues, authors must take appropriate measures to protect participants from potential harm or unwanted disclosure.

Declaration of Competing Interests

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, professional, or personal relationships that could potentially influence the research or its interpretation.

All sources of financial support for the research and preparation of the manuscript should be disclosed.

The role of funding organizations or sponsors in research design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, and publication decisions should also be clearly stated.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists Editors in making publication decisions and provides authors with constructive feedback to improve the quality of their manuscripts.

Promptness

Reviewers who believe that they are not qualified to evaluate a manuscript or cannot complete the review within the required timeframe should promptly inform the Editors and decline the review.

Confidentiality

Manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.

Reviewers must not share, discuss, or use information from manuscripts for personal or professional purposes without authorization from the Editors.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively and professionally.

Reviewers should provide clear, constructive, and academically supported comments. Personal criticism of authors is inappropriate.

Acknowledgment of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published works that have not been cited by the authors when such sources are important to the manuscript.

Reviewers should also inform the Editors of any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and other published works of which they are aware.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflict of interest that could influence their evaluation of a manuscript.

Reviewers should not review manuscripts involving significant personal, professional, institutional, or academic conflicts of interest.

Confidential information and ideas obtained during the peer-review process must not be used for personal or professional advantage.