About the Journal

Open Access Policy:

The African Journal of Development Studies (ADS) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal published twice per year by Ethiopian Civil Service University, CMC Road, P. O. Box 5648. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. As an open access journal, the journal abides by the Ethiopian Government Open Access Policy and by relevant international open access principles. The Journal is hosted in the open access plat from made generously possible by the JOS PKP.

Aim and Scope:

Thematically, the Journal has broader aim and scope on issues of development broadly defined and the name “Africa” in its nomenclature displaying its commitment to engaging scholars from Africa as well as addressing regional matters of development.  The Journal will accept original research, systematic reviews, short communications, book reviews, research reports and the like from disciplinary, multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary policy and development sciences, social and behavioral sciences, humanities, education and language, health, agriculture, socio-economic development, and political economy. However, manuscripts of pure disciplinary focus, that do not have explicit development relevance are outside of the scope. Among other things, the following broader themes will form the scope of the Journal:

  • Urban, rural and regional development
  • Social and cultural aspects of development regionally, nationally, as well as internationally
  • Environment, development, natural resources conservation,
  • Development and its impacts on society, culture, environment
  • Socio-economic impact assessments of development projects
  • Historical narratives of development
  • Political economy of development
  • Poverty, social protection and development
  • Value chain development
  • Development policies and strategies
  • Urban-rural sustainable livelihoods
  • Education and development (focus on quality issues and its long standing impact)
  • Health and development (focus on quality issues and its long standing impact)
  • Gender and development
  • Cross cutting issues (Population, Disabilities, heritages[1], Ethnicity/language, HIV/AIDS, and related areas)
  • Natural, cultural, and historical heritages: their values in development (as development assets) and their vulnerabilities through mega development impacts

Manuscripts: The JADS invites the submission of unsolicited articles, essays, and book reviews. Article submission should include an abstract of not more than 250 words. JADS is a multidisciplinary, rigorously peer-reviewed journal dedicated to publishing the finest scholarship relating to development issues in Ethiopia, the African continent, and beyond. JADS invites the submission of original manuscripts on a full range of topics related to Africa in all disciplines relating to development. To qualify for consideration, submissions must meet the scholarship standards within the appropriate discipline.

Fee Policy: The Journal does not charge any fees. Authors are welcome to submit their manuscripts without worrying about any manuscript submission or article process charges.

Plagiarism Policy: The journal maintains high professional standard and as such we give maximum attention to originality of manuscripts submitted to our journal. We use journal quality and originality check software, including Turnitin and Plagiarism Checker X Enterprise. All authors of accepted manuscripts are required to sign plagiarism declaration form.

Publication Ethics:

Our Journal requires all authors declare the authorships and contribution of co-authorship when submitted by a team. Authors shall be entitled to the rights to appeal the reviewers’ evaluation decisions. When they have grievances, they shall submit their grievances using the formats to be prepared and put in place for this purpose. Appeal and grievance cases shall be discussed during the editorial board meeting, but the final decision rests on the Editor- in- Chief. All authors are required to declare conflict of interest. There is a mandatory section in the manuscript to this end. Authors are, where applicable, requested to share their datasets supplementing their manuscript. Authors gain control of intellectual property rights emanating from their articles. We encourage authors to express their views and concerns when their spot issues for correction in our journals or particularly related to their own published articles.

© Ethiopian Civil Service University. 2023. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. P.O. Box 5648. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system. or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,  photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission in writing from the proprietor.