Journal of Citizenship (JOC) requires all authors, reviewers, and editors to declare any potential conflicts of interest that could objectively influence, bias, or compromise the research, peer review, or publishing process. Transparency is essential to maintaining scientific integrity and public trust in published scholarly work.

1. Definition of Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest (or competing interest) exists when financial, personal, academic, or professional relationships inappropriately influence (or appear to influence) an individual’s objectivity, judgment, or actions in the authoring, reviewing, or editing of a manuscript.

Potential competing interests may include, but are not limited to:

• Financial Interests: Grants, research funding, employment, honoraria, consultancies, stock ownership, or patent applications related to the topic of the manuscript.
• Personal & Relational Connections: Close personal relationships, family ties, or past/present academic mentorship between authors, reviewers, or editors.
• Professional & Institutional Affiliations: Direct employment, membership, or institutional competition with entities that could benefit or lose from the publication of the findings.

2. Responsibilities for Authors

• Mandatory Disclosure: Authors must explicitly disclose all actual or potential conflicts of interest upon submitting their manuscript via the Open Journal Systems (OJS) submission portal.
• Funding Statement: Authors must clearly state all sources of financial support received for the research and publication process (e.g., grant numbers, institution names) in the manuscript. If no funding was received, authors should explicitly state: "This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."
• Declaration Statement: Authors must include a dedicated "Conflict of Interest Statement" before the References section in their final manuscript. If no conflict exists, the statement should read:

"The authors declare that there are no financial, personal, or professional conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this article."

3. Responsibilities for Reviewers

• Impartiality & Recusal: Reviewers must decline invitations to review any manuscript if they have a known financial, professional, or personal conflict of interest with any of the authors or institutions involved.
• Prompt Notification: If a reviewer discovers a competing interest during the review process, they must notify the Managing Editor immediately to be recused from evaluating the manuscript.

4. Responsibilities for Editors & Editorial Board

• Editorial Recusal: Editors and handling members of the Editorial Board must disqualify themselves from editorial decisions on manuscripts written by close colleagues, family members, or researchers from their own department or active research collaboration group.
• Fair Processing: Decisions regarding manuscripts submitted by members of the Editorial Board will be assigned to independent guest/handling editors, and double-blind peer review will be rigorously strictly maintained.

5. Management of Undisclosed Conflicts

If an undisclosed conflict of interest is identified after publication:

1. The Editorial Board will investigate the issue in accordance with international guidelines for publication ethics (COPE).
2. If necessary, a formal Correction or Expression of Concern will be published alongside the article.
3. In severe cases where undisclosed conflicts compromise the validity or integrity of the reported findings, the manuscript may be subject to formal Retraction.