International Journal of Middle East Studies

International Journal of Middle East Studies
Title	International Journal of Middle East Studies
Discipline	Middle Eastern studies
Abbreviation	Int. J. Middle East Stud.
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Frequency	Quarterly
History	1970–present
Country	United Kingdom/United States

International Journal of Middle East Studies is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering historical, political, social, and cultural studies of the Middle East, North Africa, and Muslim world. The journal is associated with scholarly institutions and learned societies and publishes articles, review essays, and book reviews that engage archives, fieldwork, and comparative analysis. Contributions often address topics related to empire, nationalism, religion, migration, and conflict across regions such as the Levant, Arabian Peninsula, Maghreb, and Iran.

History

The journal was founded in 1970 amid debates shaped by events such as the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the decolonization processes following the Suez Crisis, attracting contributors influenced by scholars from institutions like Harvard University, University of Oxford, School of Oriental and African Studies, and American University of Beirut. Early editorial boards included scholars connected to centers such as the Institute for Advanced Study, the Middle East Institute, and the British Academy, reflecting methodological shifts after publications like Edward Said's Orientalism and debates around Postcolonialism, Nationalism and Pan-Arabism. Over successive decades the journal published work engaging archives from the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid dynasty, and the British Mandate for Palestine, while responding to crises such as the Iranian Revolution (1979), the Gulf War (1990–1991), and the Arab Spring. Special issues have foregrounded themes tied to events like the Taif Agreement, the Camp David Accords, and the Battle of Aleppo, and have showcased research linked to collections in the British Library, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, and the Library of Congress.

Scope and Content

Articles cover historical periods ranging from medieval dynasties such as the Umayyad Caliphate and the Abbasid Caliphate to modern states including Republic of Turkey, Islamic Republic of Iran, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, State of Israel, and Arab Republic of Egypt. Scholarship examines religious movements such as Wahhabism, Ismaili communities, Shia Islam, and Salafism alongside intellectual currents tied to figures like Jamal al-Din al-Afghani, Muhammad Abduh, T. E. Lawrence, and Rifa'a al-Tahtawi. The journal publishes work on social actors including Bedouin, Amazigh people, Kurds, and Armenians as well as analyses of legal instruments such as the Treaty of Sèvres, the Treaty of Lausanne, and mandates from the League of Nations. Comparative articles address transregional linkages involving the Indian Ocean trade, the Silk Road, the Ottoman–Habsburg wars, and diasporas connecting New York City, Paris, Cairo, and Beirut.

Editorial Structure and Peer Review

The editorial structure typically includes an editor-in-chief drawn from universities such as Princeton University, Yale University, Columbia University, or University of Chicago, supported by an editorial board with scholars affiliated with centers like the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology, the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies, and the Orient-Institut Beirut. Peer review is double-blind and managed through workflows commonly used by academic presses like Cambridge University Press and monitored by professional associations such as the Middle East Studies Association of North America and the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Editorial policies emphasize archival rigor, methodological transparency, and ethical standards observed by bodies like the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association.

Publication and Access

Published on a quarterly schedule by Cambridge University Press, the journal is distributed in print and electronic formats to libraries at institutions such as the University of California, the University of Michigan, and the National Library of Israel. Access models include institutional subscriptions used by collections at the Council on Foreign Relations and digital repositories that host content alongside journals like the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies and Middle East Policy. The publisher’s platform supports DOI registration via agencies such as CrossRef and links scholarship to indexes maintained by organizations like the Web of Science Group.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in services including Scopus, the Social Sciences Citation Index, JSTOR, EBSCOhost, and ProQuest databases. It appears in bibliographic resources used by scholars at the British Library, the National Library of Australia, and university consortia such as HathiTrust, and is discoverable through catalogues like WorldCat and search platforms administered by the Library of Congress.

Impact and Reception

The journal is widely cited in monographs and articles produced by historians and social scientists at institutions such as Princeton University, University of Cambridge, New York University, and SOAS University of London, and its articles contribute to debates on subjects including the Iraq War, the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, the Iran–Iraq War, and the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Citation metrics tracked by the Journal Citation Reports and inclusion in rankings used by departments at Brown University and Georgetown University reflect its standing, while critical engagements appear in venues like American Historical Review and Comparative Studies in Society and History. The journal's reception among scholars associated with the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa and the Middle East Studies Association underscores its role in shaping research agendas and graduate training across the field.

Category:Middle Eastern studies journals