About the Journal

Strategic Impact is a peer-reviewed, open access Journal, publishing scholarly articles in the field of defence and security strategic studies.

The academic quarterly is edited by the Centre for Defence and Security Strategic Studies and published by “Carol I” National Defence University Publishing House in Bucharest, Romania. It is acknowledged both nationally, by authority of the National Council for the Recognition of University Titles, Diplomas and Certificates (CNATDCU) and internationally, being indexed in various international databases and catalogues (CEEOL, EBSCO, Index Copernicus, ProQuest, Crossref, NATO Multimedia Library, WorldCat, ROAD, Google Scholar). 

Aim & Scope
Strategic Impact publishes strategic level analyses, syntheses and evaluations, but also points of view analyzing the defence and security impact of the national, regional and global dynamics, falling the following topics: political science; international relations; geopolitics, geoeconomy and geostrategy; the political-military sphere; international organizations - with a focus on NATO and the EU; information society and cyber security; intelligence studies and military history.

Publication Standards, Ethics & Malpractice Statement
Strategic Impact journal publishes papers that align with its aim and scope. The editor accepts manuscripts that comply to the requirements outlined in the Guide for authors.
Prior to evaluation, the manuscripts undergo a comprehensive anti-plagiarism screening and an AI analysis conducted in accordance with established ethical standards. Strategic Impact Journal require authors to include a statement detailing the specific purposes for which AI was employed.
The Strategic Impact Scientific Journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. We adhere to the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and expect all stakeholders - including authors, reviewers, and editors - to uphold these standards.

Author Responsibilities: Authors must ensure that their work is original, accurately represents their findings, and is free from plagiarism. All contributions must be properly cited and any significant overlap with previously published work must be disclosed. Authors must declare any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their research.
Reviewer Responsibilities: Reviewers are expected to provide objective, constructive feedback and must maintain confidentiality regarding the manuscripts they review. They should refrain from using any unpublished information for personal advantage. Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest and decline to review manuscripts where such conflicts exist.
Editorial Responsibilities: Editors are responsible for making publication decisions based on the quality and originality of the work, ensuring a fair and unbiased review process. Editors must handle submissions in a confidential manner and seek to resolve any ethical concerns that arise during the review process.
Retraction and Correction: Any ethical breaches or inaccuracies in published works within Strategic Impact journal will be promptly addressed. This includes issuing corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern when necessary.
Plagiarism and Fraud: We take allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication, and research misconduct seriously. Any suspected cases will be investigated in accordance with COPE guidelines, and appropriate actions will be taken. Each manuscript is verified for plagiarism, including the unethical use of various AI programs or unattributed translations from other languages through Sistemantiplagiat.
By adhering to these ethical guidelines, we aim to foster a culture of integrity and transparency in scientific publishing. We encourage all participants in our publication process to raise any ethical concerns they may encounter, ensuring the continued trust and credibility of our journal.

Editorial Process
The scientific evaluation of the articles proposed for publication in Strategic Impact is developed according to the principle double blind peer review, in two stages: pre-evaluation and evaluation.

Pre-evaluation
The pre-evaluation process consists in the verification by the editorial staff of the following aspects:
• Whether or not the theme of the article is in line with the subjects dealt by the journal;
• Whether or not it complies with the standards of a scientific article (structure, methodology and research hypothesis, relevant bibliography);
• If it is suspected of plagiarism (following the interpretation of the similarity report) and of the unethical use of various AI programs or unattributed translations from other languages;
• Whether it complies with the editorial standards adopted by the journal.
In case the paper does not comply with the thematic area of the journal, does not meet the standards of a scientific article or presents evidence of plagiarism, it is rejected. In case all of the requirements are met, the article is forwarded to an evaluator with expertise in the field of the paper.

Evaluation
The evaluation process is developed according to the principle double blind peer review, meaning that the author's identity is not known by the evaluator(s) and the name of the evaluator(s) is not made known to the author.
According to the Guide for evaluators, they keep a close watch on the following: quality of the scientific content, structure, originality of the paper and its conclusions; article's length from the perspective of the ideas approached and their argumentation; scientific language; relevance of article's theme for the international scientific community; adequacy of title, abstract and keywords for the article's content; utility of tables and figures; a relevant bibliography comprising recent and prestigious specialized works.
The evaluators can make corrections or comments on the text with the aim of increasing scientific quality of the article (for example, they may require: conceptual articulation, re-phrasings or additions, data or arguments in support of the analysis). The evaluator will also complete a form, which sets out a number of conclusions and general comments, as well as the underlying arguments.

Consequently to the evaluation, there are three possibilities:
a) the article is accepted for publication as such or with minor changes;
b) the article may be published if the author makes recommended improvements;
c) the article is rejected.
The editorial office receives the article evaluated electronically, together with the evaluation form and passes on the conclusions and remarks of the evaluation to the author.
In case the article is accepted for publication, provided the author makes the recommended changes, the editorial office shall provide the author a deadline for submitting the amended article. This stage involves sending the paper reviewed by the author to the same evaluator, in order to obtain his/her approval regarding the content.
The editorial staff deals with linguistic revision and editing of the article, in order to be published.

Copyright & Licensing
All works published in the Strategic Impact Journal are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License CC BY 4.0  . Under this license, reusers are required to provide appropriate credit to the original creators of the work. This includes citing the authors, the title of the work, the journal, and the license under which it is published.
Strategic Impact Journal encourages the sharing and dissemination of research findings while ensuring that the rights of authors are respected. By publishing in our journal, authors agree to this licensing arrangement, promoting collaboration and innovation in the academic community.
For more information about the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, please visit Creative Commons.

Publication Fees Statement
Authors are required no fees or charges for manuscript processing and/or publishing materials in Strategic Impact Journal.

Paper submission:
Articles shall be sent to impactstrategic@unap.ro as follows: 15th of December (No. 1); 15th of March (No. 2); 15th of June (No. 3); and 15th of September (No. 4).
The Guide for Authors can be accessed at URL: Guide for authors