Editors and reviewers must disclose any relationship or interest that could compromise, or reasonably appear to compromise, impartial assessment. Interests may be financial, professional, institutional, personal, or directly connected to the subject under evaluation.

Recognizing a conflict

Relevant circumstances may include close collaboration, supervisory relationships, shared institutional appointments, personal disputes, financial interests, or participation in the research or policy examined. An evaluator may also have a direct professional stake in an institutional arrangement being assessed. A different theoretical position or ordinary scholarly disagreement is not, by itself, a disqualifying conflict.

Reviewers should disclose relevant circumstances before accepting an assignment and seek guidance if uncertain. If a conflict becomes apparent after reading the manuscript, notify the editor promptly and avoid continuing the assessment until appropriate handling is determined.

Recusal and independent handling

An editor with a relevant conflict must not select reviewers, direct the assessment, or decide the affected manuscript. Submissions by editors, guest editors, or close collaborators are assigned to an independent editor. Conflicted individuals must not attempt to influence the decision indirectly or use privileged information obtained through the journal.

Authors may raise a reasoned concern about a potential evaluator, identifying the relevant relationship or circumstance privately. The journal considers the concern, while retaining responsibility for appointments. A request for exclusion is not an assurance that a particular person will be excluded.

Confidentiality and later discoveries

Disclosure should be handled with appropriate confidentiality and limited to what is needed to manage the assessment. Recusal does not authorize disclosure of manuscript content, reviewer identity, or correspondence. An undisclosed conflict discovered later may lead to reassessment or a public notice if it materially affects confidence in the published record.

Author declarations are governed by Competing Interests. Procedural concerns about handling can be raised under Complaints & Appeals.