Compliance with Publication Ethics Principles

The journal Foreign Affairs consistently adheres to standards of publication ethics and follows the recommendations of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). The editorial office takes a principled stance against any form of research misconduct. Particular attention is paid to checking manuscripts for originality, identifying borrowed material, and preventing plagiarism at all stages of the editorial process.

Multiple Submission

Authors must submit only original manuscripts that are not under consideration elsewhere and have not been previously published. Duplicate or simultaneous submission of the same material to multiple journals, as well as the preparation of multiple publications based on a single study without proper justification, are considered breaches of ethical standards.

Such violations may include verbatim copying, partial duplication, or paraphrasing of previously published results. If such practices are detected, the manuscript will be rejected immediately, and appropriate restrictions or sanctions may be applied to the authors.

Citation Manipulation

The editorial office does not permit artificial inflation of citation counts. Manuscripts containing references included primarily to increase citation metrics of specific authors or journals are considered to violate the principles of academic integrity and are rejected without further review.

Data Falsification and Fabrication

Any form of distortion of research results, including fabricated data, manipulation of findings, or image manipulation, is regarded as a serious breach of ethics. In such cases, the manuscript is rejected, and the editorial office reserves the right to initiate further measures concerning the authors.

Investigation of Misconduct

In cases of suspected misconduct, the editorial office conducts an investigation in accordance with COPE recommendations. Authors are given the opportunity to explain the situation and provide necessary clarifications.

Depending on the outcome, the following measures may be applied:

• if the manuscript is under review – rejection;
• if the article has already been published – implementation of correction procedures, publication of statements, or retraction.

Corrections

If significant errors affecting the scientific content are identified, the editorial office may initiate corrections.

An Erratum is issued when the error occurred due to the editorial process or during publication preparation.

A Corrigendum is issued when the error was made by the authors.

All corrections undergo editorial approval and are published as separate documents linked to the original article.

Procedure for Issuing Corrections

Corrections may be initiated by authors, editors, or readers. The editorial office evaluates the request, consults with the authors where necessary, and makes a decision.

Approved corrections are published separately, clearly labelled, and linked to the original publication.

Retraction

The editorial office may decide to retract an article in cases of significant breaches of research integrity.

Grounds for retraction include, in particular:

• unreliability of results (including due to falsification or errors);
• duplicate publication without proper citation;
• plagiarism;
• violation of authorship principles;
• compromise of the peer review process;
• breaches of research ethics.

The decision is made following an investigation involving the authors and, where necessary, independent experts.

After retraction:

• the article remains openly accessible with a “Retraction” label;
• a separate statement with a DOI is published;
• information about the retraction is clearly reflected in the metadata.

Withdrawal of Manuscripts by Authors

Authors may withdraw a manuscript only prior to its publication. To do so, a formal request with justification, signed by all authors, must be submitted. In such cases, the manuscript is removed from the editorial system, while copyright remains with the authors.

Additional Provisions on Research Integrity

Mass Misconduct and “Paper Mills”

If it is established that a manuscript is part of a series of publications produced using unethical practices or so-called “paper mills”, the editorial office may retract such work along with other related materials.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Non-transparent or undeclared use of artificial intelligence tools for generating text, images, or data is considered a breach of ethical standards. Authors are required to clearly disclose the use of such technologies. The editorial office may apply specialised tools to detect such cases.

Authorship Misrepresentation

False attribution of authorship, use of others’ identification data, or coercive authorship constitutes grounds for rejection or retraction.

Expression of Concern

In cases where there are reasonable concerns regarding the reliability of a publication but insufficient evidence for retraction, the editorial office may issue an Expression of Concern. Such a statement has a separate DOI, is linked to the article, and remains available until the investigation is completed.

Timeliness of Response

The editorial office ensures prompt action in response to identified violations. Where necessary, notices (corrections, statements, or retractions) may be published without delay, even in the absence of final agreement from the authors.

Availability of Retracted Materials

Retracted articles are not removed from the journal’s archive but remain accessible with appropriate labelling. Complete removal is possible only in exceptional cases предусмотрених by law (e.g., violations of rights or safety requirements).