Where Are the Most Influential Articles in Political Science Published?

ABSTRACT Where are the most influential articles in political science published? Drawing on citation data from the Web of Science, this article identifies the most-cited political science journal articles each decade from the 1940s through the 2020s. The results depict a changing discipline: the American Political Science Review still leads the field, but its once-dominant position has attenuated as a wider range of journals have become homes for highly cited work. Methodological papers now account for a substantial share of the discipline’s most influential research, reflecting the growing centrality of technical innovation.

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Publication Details

Journal
PS Political Science & Politics
Published
2026-08-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1017/s1049096526102467
Primary Topic
Political Science Research and Education
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Where Are the Most Influential Articles in Political Science Published?

Logan Strother
PS Political Science & Politics
Political Science Research and Education
article

Where Are the Most Influential Articles in Political Science Published?

Logan Strother
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Where are the most influential articles in political science published? Drawing on citation data from the Web of Science, this article identifies the most-cited political science journal articles each decade from the 1940s through the 2020s. The results depict a changing discipline: the American Political Science Review still leads the field, but its once-dominant position has attenuated as a wider range of journals have become homes for highly cited work. Methodological papers now account for a substantial share of the discipline’s most influential research, reflecting the growing centrality of technical innovation.

PS Political Science & Politics
Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Openalex Percentile: Top 3%
Political Science Research and Education
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