European Journal of Sociology

European Journal of Sociology
Title	European Journal of Sociology
Discipline	Sociology
Abbreviation	Eur. J. Sociol.
Editor	Raymond Boudon
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Country	United Kingdom
History	1960–present
Frequency	Quarterly
Issn	0003-9756

European Journal of Sociology The European Journal of Sociology is a peer-reviewed academic periodical devoted to the systematic study of social structures, institutions, and processes. Founded in the mid-20th century and currently published by Cambridge University Press, the journal has featured work by scholars associated with institutions such as École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, London School of Economics, Humboldt University of Berlin, University of Oxford, and Sciences Po. Its pages have carried contributions that intersect debates involving figures and entities like Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Karl Marx, Pierre Bourdieu, Talcott Parsons, Jürgen Habermas, Norbert Elias, Anthony Giddens, Georg Simmel, Michel Foucault, and Niklas Luhmann.

History

The journal traces antecedents to postwar European reconstruction when journals and institutes such as International Sociological Association, École Normale Supérieure, Collège de France, University of Paris, and Max Planck Institute fostered comparative projects. Early editorial influence drew on networks that included scholars from University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, University of Bologna, University of Amsterdam, KU Leuven, and University of Stockholm. During the 1960s and 1970s the journal engaged with debates sparked by publications like The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Capital, Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste, and The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, reflecting cross-citations with outlets such as American Journal of Sociology, British Journal of Sociology, Sociological Review, and Theory and Society. Institutional shifts in the 1990s correlated with the expansion of European research funding from agencies including European Research Council and Horizon 2020 and collaborations with research centers like Max Planck Society and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.

Scope and Content

The journal publishes empirical, theoretical, and methodological articles addressing social stratification, political sociology, urban studies, and comparative historical analysis. Topics have engaged with case studies from countries represented by France, Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden, Russia, Ukraine, Greece, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Switzerland. Contributions often relate to canonical debates involving authors like Pierre Bourdieu, Karl Polanyi, Gabriel Almond, Seymour Martin Lipset, Charles Tilly, Robert Putnam, Theda Skocpol, Saskia Sassen, Martha Nussbaum, Nancy Fraser, Axel Honneth, Zygmunt Bauman, Immanuel Wallerstein, Ralf Dahrendorf, Ulrich Beck, Loïc Wacquant, Mancur Olson, John Rawls, Amartya Sen, Elinor Ostrom, Friedrich Hayek, and Thomas Piketty. The journal also publishes debates and review essays engaging works like Bowling Alone, The Wealth of Nations, Capital in the Twenty-First Century, The Great Transformation, and The Road to Serfdom.

Editorial Structure and Peer Review

The editorial board has historically included editors and associate editors affiliated with leading European universities and learned societies such as Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, British Academy, Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. The peer-review process employs external referees drawn from departments at University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Sorbonne University, Heidelberg University, University College London, Trinity College Dublin, University of Zurich, Central European University, Bocconi University, and University of Barcelona. Editorial policies emphasize double-blind review for original research articles, with decisions informed by reviewers who have published in venues like American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Contemporary Sociology, Annual Review of Sociology, and European Sociological Review. Special issues have been guest-edited by scholars associated with centers such as Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies and funded projects from European Commission frameworks.

Publication and Access

Published quarterly by Cambridge University Press, the journal offers print and online formats, with backfiles accessible through platforms tied to institutions like JSTOR, Project MUSE, EBSCOhost, ProQuest, and CrossRef. Library subscriptions are held by national libraries including British Library, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Biblioteca Nacional de España, and Deutsche Nationalbibliothek. The journal's publication model has evolved with open access debates involving mandates from funders such as Wellcome Trust, Research Councils UK, Horizon Europe, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and European Research Council; hybrid options and article processing charges align with policies advanced by Plan S.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major citation services and bibliographic databases including Web of Science, Scopus, Social Sciences Citation Index, Current Contents, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, Sociological Abstracts, Google Scholar, Directory of Open Access Journals, EBSCO, ProQuest, and CrossRef Metadata Search. Its metadata are harvested by institutional repositories at University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Edinburgh, ETH Zurich, and KU Leuven for research evaluation purposes tied to national assessment exercises such as Research Excellence Framework and similar metrics used by Humboldt Foundation-affiliated programs.

Impact and Reception

Scholars cite the journal in discussions of European comparative sociology and transnational social theory, appearing in bibliographies alongside works by Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Pierre Bourdieu, Jürgen Habermas, and Norbert Elias. Citation metrics place it within rankings considered by departments at London School of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Sciences Po, Bocconi University, and Universidade de Lisboa. The journal has been the venue for influential debates referenced in monographs from presses such as Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, Palgrave Macmillan, and Princeton University Press, and its articles have informed policy discussions at institutions including European Commission, Council of Europe, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Category:Sociology journals