About the Journal
Focus and Scope
Foro Internacional is an academic journal published by the Center for International Studies at El Colegio de México. Founded in 1960 by Daniel Cosío Villegas, the journal publishes academic work by researchers from Mexico and abroad in the social sciences, with a particular focus on international relations, comparative politics, Mexican politics, public administration, and political theory. Foro Internacional welcomes rigorous research employing a variety of disciplinary and methodological approaches.
The journal is published quarterly and appears on the first day of January, April, July, and October. Each issue typically features articles on various topics. Occasionally, the journal publishes special or thematic issues.
Foro Internacional accepts article submissions in Spanish, English, or Portuguese. All articles in English or Portuguese that are accepted in the peer-review process are translated into Spanish for publication. Starting from the fourth quarter of 2023, selected articles will be published in two languages (Spanish plus English or Portuguese) in the online version of the journal. For more information, please refer to the Guidelines for Authors.
Foro Internacional follows the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), employs a process of academic peer-review for all submitted manuscripts, and maintains strict ethical standards in academic research and publishing.
Director of the CEI: Jean François Prud’homme
Founder: Daniel Cosío Villegas
Director: Juan Cruz Olmeda
Editor: Sergio Rincón
Editorial committee
Sergio Aguayo, El Colegio de México
Humberto Garza, El Colegio de México
Andrew Hurrell, Universidad de Oxford
Soledad Loaeza, El Colegio de México
Julio Ríos Figueroa, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México
Salvador Martí Puig, Universidad de Girona
Isabelle Rousseau, El Colegio de México
Mónica Serrano, El Colegio de México
Ma. Fernanda Somuano, El Colegio de México
Blanca Torres, El Colegio de México
Rodrigo Velázquez, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Advisory Board
Ernesto Carrillo, Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Guy Hermet, Instituto de Estudios Políticos de París
Lorenzo Meyer, El Colegio de México
B. Guy Peters, Universidad de Pittsburgh
María Victoria Murillo, Universidad de Columbia
Edward Gibson, Northwestern University
Open Access Policy
Foro Internacional provides immediate open access to its content, under the principle that unrestricted access to academic research contributes to the global exchange of knowledge.
The journal's contents are distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction of the materials in any medium or format, as long as the original work is appropriately cited, a link to the license is provided, and it is indicated whether any changes have been made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in a way that suggests that the licensor endorses you or your use. The material may not be used for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you may not distribute the modified material.
Foro Internacional does not charge any fees for the submission, processing, and/or publication of articles, reviews, or any material.
Indexing
America, History and Life. 0002-7065, 1954.
Citas Latinoamericanas en Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades (CLASE)
DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals
Handbook of Latin American Studies (División Hispánica de la Biblioteca del Congreso de Washington)
Hemeroteca Latinoamericana (HELA)
Hispanic American Periodicals Index: the Database of Latin American Journal Articles (HAPI ONLINE)
Historical Abstracts. Part B. Twentieth Century Abstracts. 0363-2725, 1954
Índice de Revistas Mexicanas de Investigación Científica y Tecnológica (Conacyt)
International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (IBSS)
International Political Science Abstract
Public Affairs Information Service (PAIS International)
Sociological Abstracts (International Sociological Association)
Worldwide Political Science Abstracts
Guidelines for Authors
Articles
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The journal accepts article submissions in Spanish, English, or Portuguese. All articles in English or Portuguese that are accepted in the peer-review process will be translated into Spanish for publication. Selected articles will be published in two languages (Spanish plus English or Portuguese) in the online version of the journal, as determined by the Editorial Board.
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The journal will only consider original research articles in the areas of international relations, comparative politics, Mexican politics, public administration, and political theory. Manuscripts submitted to Foro Internacional cannot be simultaneously under consideration by another journal. Articles previously published in any language or format will also not be accepted. Authors commit to consult and strictly comply with the journal's Ethical and Good Practices Guidelines.
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Articles submitted to Foro Internacional will be sent out for academic peer-review by specialists in the field, following the principle of double-blind review. Manuscripts must be written in a way that maintains the anonymity of the authors. With this end, authors should avoid excessive self-citation and ensure that their citations do not reveal their identity.
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Upon receipt of the reviews, the journal will make a decision about publication and communicate it to the author(s), if possible within a period of no more than three months. Only articles that receive at least two favorable peer reviews will be eligible for publication. The Editorial Board may reject manuscripts in a pre-review stage (desk rejection) if they are not based on academic research, do not meet minimum quality standards, or fall outside the journal's subject areas. For further information, please refer to our Peer-Review Policy.
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Upon acceptance of a manuscript, authors will be asked to provide written authorization to Foro Internacional to publish their work in both print and digital formats. The authors must declare that the submitted manuscript is original, has not been previously published in whole or in part, and does not infringe on the rights of any third-party authors. If any author engages in plagiarism or other forms of malpractice, the article will be discarded or, if already published, retracted as specified in the journal's Ethical guidelines. Any future submissions by the responsible parties will be rejected.
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Manuscripts must be submitted electronically through the journal's website. To submit a manuscript, registration is required, or if you already have an account, please log in. The maximum length should be 10,000 words (including footnotes and bibliography). They should be sent in Word format or equivalent, in 12-point font with double spacing.
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Manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter containing author contact information, including full name(s), institutional affiliation, and postal and email addresses. All data provided is protected by our Privacy Policy.
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An abstract (maximum 150 words) and five keywords must be provided, in Spanish and English. The title of the article must also appear in Spanish and English.
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Sources must be referenced in footnotes containing complete bibliographic information: names and surnames of authors; title of the work (in quotation marks for articles, in italics for books); name of editors, etc., if any; place of publication, publisher, year of publication, and number of pages. For guidance on citing sources and preparing your bibliography, please refer to the journal's Style Manual.
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In addition to footnotes, a separate bibliography section listing all cited sources must be included at the end of the text.
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Citations of up to five lines should be placed in the body of the text and enclosed in quotation marks. Longer citations should be presented as a separate paragraph, indented on both sides, single-spaced, and without quotation marks. When the citation contains additions by the author, they should be enclosed in square brackets. All quotations in the text must be accompanied by the corresponding bibliographic reference.
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When using acronyms, authors should spell out the full name the first time and put the acronym in parentheses. The acronym may be used thereafter.
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If the text contains visual or graphic elements, authors must submit the source files in an editable format (e.g., MS Excel).
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Authors will receive five copies of the printed journal. For co-authored articles, each will receive three copies.
Book reviews
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The journal publishes reviews of academic books published within the last three years from the time of submission. Reviews must be submitted in Spanish.
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The books reviewed should belong to a prestigious academic publisher and contribute to the disciplinary fields of the journal, including international relations, comparative politics, public administration, and political theory.
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Reviews must be submitted electronically through the journal’s website. The maximum length is 2,500 words (including footnotes and bibliography, if applicable). Reviews should be submitted in Word or equivalent format, using a 12-point font with double spacing. To submit a review, registration is required, or if you already have an account, please log in.
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The complete reference of the reviewed work (including the name of the author, title, year of publication, and publisher) should be included at the beginning of the document. Additionally, the name of the reviewer, their institutional affiliation, and contact information must be provided.
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The decision on which book reviews are published rests with the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board, based on criteria of quality, relevance, and available space in the journal.
Ethics and Best Practices Guidelines
Foro Internacional adheres to the principles established in the Ethical Guidelines, the Editorial Ethics Guidelines, and the Ethical Principles for Research of El Colegio de México. The journal's editorial team, authors, and reviewers are obliged to comply with the norms and principles contained therein, as well as those detailed in these guidelines.
The journal rejects any type of intellectual dishonesty or violation of ethical principles in research and publication. The Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief expect readers and reviewers who suspect violations of integrity or misconduct in the contents of the journal or in manuscripts under consideration to promptly contact them.
A. On plagiarism, duplicate publication, and self-plagiarism
Foro Internacional has a strict policy against academic fraud and editorial misconduct, including plagiarism, duplicate publication, recycling of text or self-plagiarism, citation manipulation, and data fabrication. As a policy for the prevention and combating of dishonest practices, the journal reserves the right to check manuscripts using specialized software and other conventional detection tools.
For the journals published by El Colegio de México, plagiarism consists of using ideas, text, illustrations, data, or any other type of material produced by others without proper attribution, in whole or in part. Any work submitted for publication that generates well-founded suspicion of plagiarism will be discarded. The journal will not accept future manuscripts from those who have committed this offense.
In the event of plagiarism or any other violation of academic integrity and research ethics in an already published work, it will be retracted, and a visible note explaining the reasons for the retraction will be published in both the print and electronic versions of the journal.
Foro Internacional also rejects as dishonest practices attempts at duplicate publication and self-plagiarism, including cases where the material in question appeared first in another language. Duplicate publication occurs when authors submit work for consideration by another journal simultaneously, or when they submit, as if it were unpublished material, work that has been previously published in its entirety or in substantial parts. A manuscript submission may be considered as an attempt at duplicate publication even if there are modifications in wording relative to the original.
Self-plagiarism occurs when authors reuse, without proper citation, text or any type of content of their authorship from previous publications. The use of material previously published by the authors without appropriate attribution will be grounds for rejection of the manuscript due to editorial misconduct. Even when cited, excessive reuse of material or ideas included in other own works will be grounds for rejection of the manuscripts.
By submitting a manuscript for consideration to the journal, authors declare that they are aware of and comply with these provisions. Prior to publication, they will sign a letter restating that their work is original, proprietary, and has not been published previously.
B. On conflict of interest
Conflict of interest refers to situations in which the impartiality and objectivity of a person involved in the processes of review and publication of a manuscript may be affected for professional, personal, financial, or other reasons.
For example, there is a conflict of interest when the authors of a manuscript are part of the journal’s editorial team, in which case, uninvolved members of the Editorial Board will assume responsibility for leading the peer-review process under the double-blind principle, and if the text is published, the situation will be declared on the first page.
There may also be a conflict of interest when a reviewer recognizes or suspects the identity of the author(s) of the assigned manuscript and this may affect their ability to evaluate the text impartially, or influence their recommendation in any way. When a reviewer finds themselves in this situation, they should inform the journal editors as soon as possible, so that they can evaluate the situation and, if necessary, select another reviewer.
Editors, authors, reviewers, and other individuals involved in the journal’s processes should immediately inform the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board of any circumstances that could be considered a conflict of interest, so that they take appropriate mitigation and prevention measures to preserve the integrity of the peer-review and publication processes. When the Editor-in-Chief or members of the Editorial Board are themselves in a possible conflict of interest, the remaining uninvolved members or, if necessary, other editorial instances will resolve the situation. The Editor-in-Chief and members of the Editorial Board will abstain from making decisions in situations where they have conflicting interests.
C. Ethical obligations of authors
Authors of manuscripts submitted to Foro Internacional commit to following the Guidelines for Authors established by the journal. Manuscripts that do not meet all the requirements specified therein will not be sent out for review. Authors are also responsible for the truthfulness of the information they provide regarding their academic degrees, institutional affiliation, authorship or co-authorship, research support, or others.
Authors are obliged to strictly adhere to ethical principles in the research submitted for consideration by the journal. Among these principles are academic integrity and respect for the dignity and privacy of the individuals involved in the research, in any modality.
It is the authors’ obligation to present only original and unpublished manuscripts, i.e., those produced by them and not previously published in whole or in part. Under no circumstances should manuscripts submitted to Foro Internacional be under consideration by another journal simultaneously, until a decision has been made regarding publication.
Authors are obligated to avoid editorial malpractice and any form of academic fraud, such as data fabrication, plagiarism and self-plagiarism, citation manipulation, and the use of others’ work without proper attribution and citation, among others. Authors will reference the sources used for their research in citations, footnotes, and the bibliography, in accordance with the journal’s Style Manual. The Ethical Principles for Research at El Colegio de México, to which the journal adheres, state: “Authorial attribution will always be given, that is, individuals whose ideas, works, contributions, and research have been relevant to the investigation will be properly recognized and cited.”
Authors are responsible for acknowledging and documenting the contributions of their collaborators and other authors who participated in the preparation of the manuscripts. In the case of manuscripts prepared by more than one person, the one registered as the corresponding author is responsible for communicating with their co-authors about all aspects related to the review process and possible publication in the journal.
Authors are obliged to inform in their article if they received funding for their research, declare the entity that has done so, and the role they played in the different phases of the research process. They must also follow principles of transparency, reproducibility, verifiability, and good research practices in the collection, presentation, and discussion of evidence. This includes discussing criteria for the selection of sources and cases, clearly reporting the methodology used, and making the information and data used in the preparation of their articles available. Authors will enable open access to these materials whenever possible.
Authors should take measures within their reach to preserve the integrity of the peer-review process under the principle of double-blind review. This includes avoiding revealing their identity in the manuscripts indirectly through the presentation of citations or excessive self-citation.
D. Ethical obligations of peer reviewers
Peer reviewers should evaluate manuscripts solely based on their academic and scientific merits, adhering to the principle of objectivity. It is their responsibility to take all measures within their reach to avoid introducing conscious or unconscious biases in the review process. Peer reviewers who consider themselves unqualified to judge a work based strictly on academic and scientific criteria must inform the journal Editor-in-Chief within a period of no more than ten days.
Peer reviewers are obliged to treat manuscripts they receive for review as confidential documents. The manuscripts should not be shared or discussed with third parties without explicit permission from the journal’s editorial team. Peer reviewers should take measures within their reach to preserve the integrity of the peer-review process under the principle of double-blind review. This includes avoiding revealing their identity in reviews.
If during the review process, peer reviewers have suspicion or concerns related to academic fraud or editorial malpractices in the manuscripts under their consideration, they must readily inform the Editor-in-Chief.
Peer reviewers also have the responsibility to report to the Editor-in-Chief any possible conflict of interest they may encounter in reviewing manuscripts, in order to preserve the integrity of the peer-review process. This includes having a professional or personal relationship with the authors of the manuscripts or a particular interest in the results of the review process, for example, when the work contradicts or corroborates findings or arguments associated with the reviewer’s work in a way that could bias their evaluation.
Peer reviewers will have a period of thirty days from the invitation to review the manuscripts. When they are not able to review the manuscript within that period or delays occur, they will inform the journal in a timely manner.
The evaluations written by peer reviewers should be properly detailed and constructive. Reviewers are responsible for ensuring that their evaluations always respect the dignity of the authors and other persons. Within these parameters, the journal expects reviewers to evaluate the quality of the arguments, methodology, evidence, and other contents of the manuscripts in a deep and rigorous manner. Reviewers’ recommendations to the journal's editorial team regarding publication should be based on such evaluation.
In their evaluations, reviewers should explain their comments and observations so that the journal’s editorial team and authors understand their analytical foundation. In no case should peer reviewers use information, arguments, or interpretations learned during the peer-review process without the author's consent and due attribution.
E. Ethical Obligations of the Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief of Foro Internacional
The Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief will consider manuscripts submitted to the journal solely based on their academic and scientific merits. It is the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and the Board to accept or reject manuscripts. To make decisions about the publication of manuscripts, they will rely on the corresponding anonymous reviews and the obligations established in these Guidelines.
The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are responsible for the strict, consistent, and impartial application of the journal’s Peer-Review Policy. According to this Policy, all manuscripts will be subject to academic evaluation by independent peers, under the principle of double-blind review. Under no circumstances should the identity of the reviewers of a manuscript, nor that of the authors, be disclosed during the review process. Only with the publication of the article, if applicable, will the names of the authors be known.
As per the Peer-Review Policy, the Board and the Editor-in-Chief may reject manuscripts at a pre-review stage (desk rejection), provided that, after considering them following the double-blind principle, there is agreement of at least two editors. Desk rejection will proceed only when manuscripts deal with topics outside the areas of expertise of the journal, are not fundamentally based on academic research, do not meet minimum quality standards, or involve violations of editorial and research ethics principles.
When the recommendations of reviewers regarding the publication of a manuscript do not coincide, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, with the support of the Board, will decide on publication. To do so, additional evaluations may be requested.
It is the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board to resolve cases related to academic fraud, conflicts of interest, and editorial misconduct in manuscripts received in the journal. In doing so, they must act in accordance with the ethical norms and principles of El Colegio de México, referenced at the beginning of these Guidelines. The Editor-in-Chief and members of the Editorial Board are obligated to declare any conflicts of interest they may have due to their position in the journal or in the evaluation of any manuscript and excuse themselves when appropriate.
The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board are committed to upholding freedom of thought and expression, as well as ensuring that the research published in the journal adheres to ethical principles in the collection and use of evidence, such as informed consent; ethical use of documentary sources; and respect for the dignity and privacy of all persons involved, in any modality. This includes rejection of the use of sexist terms or any denigrating language in the manuscripts.
