Ethics

The Journal of Geoeconomics is committed to maintaining the integrity of its editorial and publishing processes. The Journal follows the core practices and relevant guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when addressing questions of authorship, competing interests, peer review, research integrity, corrections, retractions, and publication misconduct.

Submissions must be original and must not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal. Authors must properly acknowledge and cite all text, ideas, data, figures, images, and other material derived from another source.

Plagiarism, inappropriate text recycling or self-plagiarism, duplicate publication, fabrication or falsification of data, deceptive image manipulation, citation manipulation, and unauthorized use of another person’s work are prohibited.

The Journal may use similarity-detection and other research-integrity tools when assessing submissions. Results produced by automated tools are reviewed by an editor and are not treated as conclusive evidence without human assessment

All scholarly articles undergo external peer review in accordance with the Journal’s Peer Review Policy. Book reviews, editorials, publisher’s notes, corrections, retractions, and other non-research content undergo appropriate editorial review and are clearly identified by article type.

Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the work, approved the submitted and published versions, and agreed to be accountable for the integrity of the contribution. Individuals who contributed to the work but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be appropriately acknowledged.

All listed authors must consent to submission. Changes to authorship after submission require an explanation and the agreement of all affected authors.

Authors submitting to the Journal of Geoeconomics must adhere to international, national, and institutional guidelines on research reporting. This is particularly crucial for studies involving human  subjects, their data, as well as matters related to informed consent.

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

Editors and reviewers must disclose relevant competing interests and must decline to handle or review a submission where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Submissions authored by editors, Editorial Board members, guest editors, or persons associated with the Journal are handled independently by an editor without a conflict of interest.

Using text, data, figures, or images without proper acknowledgment or permission constitutes plagiarism, as does paraphrasing text, concepts, or ideas without appropriate citation. Additionally, self-plagiarism—where an author reuses their own previously published text, data, or ideas without proper reference—is also considered a form of ethical misconduct. Altering or inventing data, and unauthorized use of others' work are also strictly prohibited.  Any instances of ethical violations will be addressed seriously and handled in accordance with COPE guidelines. 

In accordance with COPE’s stance on the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in research publications, the Journal of Geoeconomics adheres to the following policy:

• AI tools cannot be credited as authors since they are not legal entities and, therefore, cannot take responsibility for submitted work or declare conflicts of interest.
• If AI tools are utilized at any stage of manuscript preparation, authors must disclose their use, specifying which tools were used, their role, and the sections they influenced.
• Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their manuscript, including any material generated by AI, and are accountable for any violations of COPE guidelines.

Authors are encouraged to review the COPE Position Statement on Authorship and AI Tools for further guidance.

The Journal of Geoeconomics welcomes submissions that include material previously incorporated into a PhD or other academic thesis, provided it was published according to the awarding institution’s requirements. Consistent with COPE guidelines, if such a manuscript is accepted for publication, authors must include a footnote clearly stating the degree to which the article incorporates material from their unpublished thesis. Generally, a thesis consists entirely of original, unpublished research; authors holding copyright over their thesis content retain the right to publish it subsequently, irrespective of whether the thesis is accessible through an institutional repository or available under licenses permitting reuse, such as Creative Commons. If any part of the thesis involves co-authorship, all co-authors must consent to submission for publication. The original thesis must be properly acknowledged and cited as the source within the publication.

Concerns about a submitted or published work will be assessed fairly and confidentially in accordance with applicable COPE guidance. Authors, editors, reviewers, and other parties are expected to cooperate with reasonable requests for information during an investigation.

Where the scholarly record requires correction, the Journal may publish a correction, retraction, expression of concern, or other post-publication notice. Such notices will be clearly identified and linked to the affected article. Published content will not ordinarily be removed except where necessary for legal, privacy, security, or serious ethical reasons.

Complaints or appeals concerning editorial process or publication ethics will be considered by an editor or Publisher representative who was not directly responsible for the matter under review.