Jurnal ICMES: The Journal of Middle East Studies is committed to responsible research, fair editorial assessment, and the integrity of the scholarly record. Its publication ethics policies draw on the Core Practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

These responsibilities apply to everyone involved in publication: authors, editors, reviewers, and the publisher.

Authors’ Responsibilities

Authors must present original research, report their methods and findings honestly, and acknowledge the sources of the ideas, words, and materials they use. Plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and undisclosed duplicate publication are unacceptable. Manuscripts must not be submitted to another journal while under consideration by Jurnal ICMES.

All listed authors must meet the journal’s authorship criteria, approve the final manuscript, and take responsibility for their contributions. Relevant funding, competing interests, and uses of generative AI must be disclosed in accordance with the journal’s policies.

Research involving human participants must respect informed consent, privacy, and safety. Ethics approval must be obtained where required. Identifying information must be protected, particularly where disclosure could expose participants to harm. Research involving animals, where applicable, must meet relevant ethical requirements and avoid unnecessary suffering.

Authors should retain the evidence supporting their findings and respond to reasonable editorial requests for clarification, while respecting confidentiality and participant safety. Significant errors discovered after publication must be reported to the journal promptly.

Editors’ Responsibilities

Editors assess manuscripts on their scholarly merit and relevance to the journal, without discrimination based on an author’s identity, affiliation, or political beliefs. They arrange appropriate peer review and make publication decisions independently of commercial interests, publication fees, and external pressure.

Editors must protect confidential information, disclose competing interests, and withdraw from handling manuscripts when their impartiality could be compromised. Unpublished material must not be used for personal benefit without the author’s written permission.

Editors are responsible for addressing credible ethical concerns fairly and giving the parties involved an opportunity to respond.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewers should provide objective, constructive, and timely assessments supported by clear reasons. They should accept assignments only when they have suitable expertise and disclose any interests that could affect their impartiality.

Manuscripts and review materials must remain confidential. Reviewers must not use unpublished information for personal benefit or upload confidential materials to external AI services without the journal’s prior authorization and appropriate confidentiality safeguards.

Suspected plagiarism, questionable evidence, or other ethical concerns should be reported to the editor.

Publisher’s Responsibilities

The publisher supports editorial independence and provides the resources needed for responsible journal management. It works with editors to protect confidential information, respect intellectual property, and maintain an accurate scholarly record.

Publication fees must be stated transparently. Payment does not influence editorial decisions or guarantee acceptance.

Ethical Concerns, Complaints, and Corrections

Concerns about submitted or published work, complaints about editorial conduct, and appeals against editorial decisions may be sent to icmes.indonesia@gmail.com. Reports should identify the manuscript or article and explain the concern, with supporting evidence where available.

The journal assesses concerns fairly and confidentially, seeking clarification and independent advice where necessary. Appeals are assessed by an appropriate person who was not involved in the original decision and has no competing interest.

When the evidence warrants action, the journal may reject a manuscript or publish a correction, expression of concern, or retraction. Readers are also welcome to submit evidence-based comments on published articles.

Detailed requirements and procedures are available under Journal Policies, including authorship, plagiarism and AI use, research misconduct, conflicts of interest, post-publication discussion, and corrections and retractions.

Reference: COPE Core Practices