Peer review policy

General Provisions

All scientific articles submitted to the editorial office of the journal “Bulletin of the Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages” Series “International relations and regional studies” undergo mandatory double-blind peer review.

Requirements for Reviewers

Consent to Review.

- The reviewer gives consent to evaluate manuscripts in accordance with their subject specialization and the objectives of the review.

- The reviewer undertakes to complete the review within the agreed timeframe.

Confidentiality. The reviewer must maintain the confidentiality of all information received during the evaluation process.

Objectivity and Quality of Evaluation.

- The reviewer provides an objective and constructive assessment of the manuscript aimed at improving its quality.

- The reviewer does not use information obtained during the review for personal benefit or in the interests of third parties.

- The reviewer avoids offensive or defamatory remarks.

Conflict of Interest.  The reviewer declares any potential conflicts of interest and informs the editorial office if unable to provide an independent judgment.

Review Procedure

1. Preliminary Check

- The manuscript is automatically checked for plagiarism through the Strikeplagiarism.com system.

- After that, the responsible editor forwards the article for review.

2. Selection of Reviewers

- The executive secretary selects specialists of the relevant field without disclosing authorship.

- Reviewers must be recognized experts in the subject of the article.

- A reviewer cannot be a co-author of the manuscript or the scientific advisor of the degree candidate. In case of conflict of interest, the reviewer has the right to decline.

3. Review Procedure

- The reviewer undertakes to provide an assessment within 10 working days.

- If the reviewer agrees and has no conflicts of interest, the review form is sent by the editorial office.

- If a conflict of interest is identified, a reasoned refusal must be provided within 2 days.

4. Processing the Review Results

- If the review includes recommendations for revision, the editorial office sends the text of the review to the author with a request to make corrections or provide reasoned objections.

- The revision should not take more than 14 days.

- After revision, the manuscript is resubmitted to the same reviewer.

5. Further Actions

- If the authors refuse to make revisions, they must notify the editorial office.

- If the revised version is not returned within one month, the article is withdrawn from consideration and its registration is terminated.

6. Additional Review

   - In cases of unresolved contradictions, the editorial board may send the manuscript for additional review.

7. Decision-Making on Publication

- A positive review does not guarantee publication—the final decision is made by the editorial board.

- In case of conflicts or disagreements, the decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief.

- A rejection decision is made at a meeting of the editorial board and is communicated to the author in writing.

- A manuscript not recommended for publication will not be reconsidered.

Information for Authors

- After approval, the editorial office informs the author about publication and deadlines.

- Notification of rejection is sent by email.

- Authors have the opportunity to review the text of the review (without information about the reviewer).

Structure of the Review

The review structure includes:

- Title of the article

- Compliance with the journal’s scope

- Relevance (originality) of the topic

- Novelty, scientific and practical significance

- Consistency of content with the topic

- Appropriateness of research methods

- Value of conclusions and results

- Style of presentation (grammar, clarity)

- Technical quality (illustrations, formatting)

- Justification of literature use

Final conclusion

In conclusion, the reviewer may provide one of the following recommendations:

- The article is recommended for publication in its current form;

- The article is recommended for publication after revisions;

- The article cannot be accepted for publication in the journal.