Hikama (Governance) is a bi-annual peer reviewed academic journal published by the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies and Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (p-ISSN: 2708-5805), (e-ISSN: 2708-5813). Hikama seeks to broaden the understanding of the fields of public policy and public administration in the Arab World and reinvigorate the political and social elements of public policy. It is a space for academic thought and discussion on what Arab governments - with their values, institutions, and public bodies - are doing, and should aspire to do in order to nurture politically modern and socially just Arab societies.
Overseen by an expert editorial board and an international advisory body, Hikama is founded upon an ethical charter of publication guidelines and directives governing relationships with researchers, and has a structure conforming to the formal and substantive specifications of refereed international periodicals. An internal regulatory code provides the basis for review and arbitration by an approved list of referees who are specialized in all fields.
The journal encourages submissions in the following areas:
- Theoretical studies contributing to the development of the field, keeping up with recent developments, offering critical approaches to understanding of the issues and contributing new methodologies for study. Priority is given here to research that offers in-depth theoretical frameworks regarding the challenges faced by the Arab World and contributes to an understanding of Arab case studies.
- Main topics in the field of public administration, such as: organizational structures for management of state public institutions; centralization and decentralization; human resources management; the decision-making process; public budgets; managing the third sector and non-governmental organizations; crisis and disaster management; leadership in public administration; e-government and public sector digitization; monitoring of public administration performance; public administration ethics; performance development strategies; and governance in light of relationships and partnerships between the government, private, and non-governmental sectors, and more.
- Studies concerning the strengthening of civil values and culture, the rule of law, institutions, citizenship, separation of powers and participation, as well as broader topics encompassing human rights and freedoms and political empowerment of marginalised groups, minorities, youth and women.
- Studies on improving the policymaking milieu and its regulation through democratic regulatory oversight mechanisms and the judiciary as well as internal oversight mechanisms.
- Studies focused on ways to improve government commitment and performance in sectors such as health, housing, education, research, development, environment, energy, resource management, land use, technology and information systems.
- Studies of human security in Arab societies and social and economic rights.
- Studies concerning the social aspects of administration and public policy and just distribution of services among citizens and rational social options.
- Studies concerning rationalisation and regulation of public spending and strengthening public resources. This includes studies on distribution of the tax burden, taxation systems and resource development.
- Studies on issues of international cooperation, particularly those concerning Arab and regional integration. Priority will be given to those studies that take a comparative Arab-Arab and South-South approach.
