Journal of Modern African Studies
DisciplineAfrican studies
LanguageEnglish
Edited byIan Taylor, Ebenezer Obadare
Publication details
History1963–present
Publisher
Cambridge University Press (United Kingdom)
FrequencyQuarterly
1.137 (2021)
Standard abbreviations
ISO 4J. Mod. Afr. Stud.
Indexing
ISSN0022-278X (print)
1469-7777 (web)
LCCN2001-227388
JSTOR0022278X
OCLC no.48535892
Links

The Journal of Modern African Studies is a quarterly academic journal of African studies covering developments in modern African politics and society. Its main emphasis is on current issues in African politics, economies, societies, and international relations. The journal is published by Cambridge University Press.

The journal was created in 1963 by Helen Kimble and David Kimble in Dar El Salam and was then hosted at the University of East Africa. Helen and David Kimble served as founding editors from 1963 to 1997, they edited the journal jointly until 1972 as it has been hosted in universities in Morocco, Lesotho, Malawi and in the United Kingdom.

As of 2026 its editors-in-chief are Corentin Cohen and Michael Ehis Odijie, both at the University of Oxford. Former editors include Ebenezer Obadare (Council on Foreign Relations) from 2017 to 2025 and Ian Taylor (St. Andrews University) from 2017 to 2021, Leonardo A. Villalón (University of Florida) and Paul Nugent (University of Edinburgh) edited the journal from 2012 to 2017, and Christopher Clapham (University of Cambridge) from 1997 to 2012.

Abstracting and indexing

The journal is abstracted and indexed in:

According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2025 impact factor of 1.7.[1]

Notable articles

[according to whom?]

  1. ^ "Journal of Modern African Studies". 2021 Journal Citation Reports. Web of Science (Social Sciences ed.). Clarivate. 2022.