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Dominating the Narrative:How Scholars Outside of Africa Define African Politics in the Top Political Science Journals
Zimbalist, Zack Omodei, Elisa
Zimbalist, Zack
Omodei, Elisa
Title / Series / Name
PS: Political Science & Politics
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Author
Editors
Keywords
Sociology and Political Science
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Omodei-Elisa_2026.pdf
Adobe PDF, 4.89 MB
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/28955
Abstract
Using a citation network approach, this study investigates how the subfield of African politics has evolved since its emergence in the late 1950s by focusing on the influence of African and Africa-based scholars in the top 20 political science journals. We find that African and Africa-based authors are systematically underrepresented in our sample and among the most influential authors today. Starting from a low base, African and Africa-based scholars experienced a period of increasing influence between 2000 and 2010; however, their influence has declined substantially since then. This article highlights two key factors associated with this decline: (1) the rising competitiveness of top-tier political science journals, which increasingly are privileging particular quantitative methodologies that require substantial financial resources and training; and (2) the increasing citation rates of non-African and non-Africa-based scholars in leading political science journals. The article concludes with recommendations that promote greater inclusivity and pluralism, with broader implications for the political science discipline.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2026-04-08
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1017/S1049096526102029