Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies is committed to disseminating high-quality research through its articles according to the set norms and ethics of the social scientific community. Conformance with the standards of ethical behaviour and norms of research of all involved in the process, namely the editors, the editorial advisory board, peer reviewers, publisher(s) and contributors to the publication, is essential to maintain a cutting-edge journal worthy of international academic citizenship. In particular, the following is required of the stakeholders:

Editorial Advisory Board
The Editorial Advisory Board is recognised and well-known academics, theorists and expert practitioners in the subject area representing an international spread. The Editorial Advisory Board members act as an example and subscribe to the international scientific community's norms and ethical standards and this journal's ethical guidelines. While the member's task is mainly advisory in nature, they act as providers of advice and source of experience during the review and publication process as set out in the instructions to authors and the particular ethical guidelines for the journal set out here.

Editors
Editors evaluate manuscripts only in terms of their academic merit and suitability in terms of the journal's focus. Editors take care that peer reviewers that are selected are academics in good standing and with relevant knowledge and expertise in the particular field of the article submitted. Editors will take responsible and reasonable responsive measures with regard to ethical complaints received. The editors will investigate complaints of ethical transgressions and take reasonable steps per the circumstances of a particular case.

Authors
Authors should ensure that their submissions are their own original work, sufficiently detailed, well-argued and according to a proper reference system (click here for more information). Where other authors' work is used, proper and full referencing is required. No paraphrasing or indirect paraphrasing without acknowledgement is acceptable. Authors must acknowledge all sources used. Plagiarism in any form, whether construed as unconscious or naive plagiarism or direct or indirect plagiarism, is unacceptable and will lead to immediate rejection of articles, including the blacklisting of the person involved. Submitting an article or review article to more than one journal is unacceptable. Where co-authorship is at stake, the person responsible for submission will ensure that the co-author(s) concur on the submission in that particular version both in terms of contents, argument and format.

Reviewers
Scientia Militaria consistently uses and values a double-blind peer-review process. All articles/submissions are treated as strictly confidential. All information obtained through the peer-review process, including research data, are not for use by the reviewers or anyone associated with the reviewer privately or for dissemination purposes. Peer reviewers strive to conduct their reviews unbiasedly, and observations and comments (including constructive criticism or the identification of shortcomings in articles) are to be formulated clearly and with supporting arguments. Any peer reviewer who feels unqualified or not interested in reviewing a particular submission should notify the editors and kindly excuse themselves from the process. Reviewers should under no circumstances review articles in which they observe and/or are aware of a conflict of interests, be it from personal, collaborative or competitive relationships, connections or networks during the process from the start of the initial article to the publication of the output. Reviewers should respond according to the set requirements and feedback period in good time as requested by the editors to benefit the authors and the journal.