Politics & Security is committed to maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the scholarly record. This policy establishes the procedures for issuing corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Corrections (Erratum / Corrigendum)

A correction notice is issued when a published article contains a minor error that does not affect the validity of the findings, conclusions, or the integrity of the work as a whole.

An Erratum is issued when the error was introduced by the editorial or production process. A Corrigendum is issued when the error was made by the authors.

Corrections are published as a separate notice linked to the original article. The original article is retained unchanged in the published record, with a visible link to the correction notice. The date of the correction is recorded in the metadata.

Authors who identify errors in their published work should contact the editorial office at editor@politics-security.net without delay.

2. Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when the editorial board has received evidence of possible misconduct or a dispute regarding a published article, but a full investigation has not yet been completed, or when an investigation is ongoing and the outcome is uncertain.

An Expression of Concern does not constitute a finding of misconduct. It signals to readers that the reliability of the work is under review. The notice is linked to the original article and remains part of the permanent record.

3. Retractions

A Retraction is issued when a published article is found to contain fundamental errors, fabricated or falsified data, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other serious ethical violations that invalidate its findings or conclusions. Such errors may result from either an honest mistake or a deliberate violation. A retraction warns readers that the article cannot be relied upon and corrects the published record; its purpose is to safeguard the integrity of that record, not to punish the authors involved.

Grounds for retraction include:

• Fundamental errors or misinterpretation of results that cast doubt on the scientific validity of the article;
• Fabricated or falsified data (e.g., manipulated research data);
• Plagiarism or other undue borrowing in a significant amount;
• Duplicate publication of the article in more than one journal or edition;
• Incorrect authorship (inclusion of persons who do not meet authorship criteria, or omission of those who do);
• A concealed conflict of interest or other undisclosed violation of publication ethics;
• Re-publication of the article without the consent of the author;
• Other serious violations of the journal's ethical principles.

Retractions may be initiated by the authors, the editorial board, or the institution of the authors. The editorial board follows COPE retraction guidelines in all cases. The decision to retract is made by the editorial board on the recommendation of the Editor-in-Chief and is recorded in the minutes of the Editorial Board meeting, taking into account the author's response where one has been received.

If authors themselves request retraction of their own work, they should contact the editorial office in writing, explaining the reason; the editorial board will assess whether grounds for retraction exist and will proceed accordingly. Where the editorial board initiates a retraction on the basis of its own assessment or information received, the corresponding author(s) will be informed and invited to comment before a final decision is made. The editorial board reserves the right to retract an article without the author's consent — including where the author does not respond — following due process and, where appropriate, in consultation with the Council for the Ethics of Scientific Publications. Together with a retraction decision, the editorial board may also impose a temporary ban on accepting further submissions from the author(s) of a retracted article.

Upon retraction, the original article is retained in the published record but is clearly watermarked as "RETRACTED" on each page, with the same notice added to the article's entry in the table of contents of the issue. A retraction notice is published stating the reason for the retraction (including, in cases of plagiarism, reference to the sources of the borrowed material), the date, and who initiated the process; it is linked bidirectionally to the original article. The retraction is reflected in the article's metadata and communicated to all relevant indexing services and scientific-information databases and, where applicable, to the Council for the Ethics of Scientific Publications, together with a record of the meeting at which the decision was taken. The corresponding author is sent the minutes of the Editorial Board meeting setting out the reasoning for the retraction, and information about the retraction is posted on the journal's website.

4. Investigation Procedure

Upon receiving a credible allegation of misconduct or error, the Editor-in-Chief will:

• Acknowledge receipt within 5 working days;
• Conduct an initial assessment within 15 working days;
• Inform the corresponding author and, where appropriate, their institution;
• Follow the relevant COPE flowchart for the type of allegation;
• Issue a decision and, where applicable, a public notice.

All parties involved in an investigation are expected to maintain confidentiality throughout the process.

5. Reporting

Allegations of errors or misconduct in published articles may be submitted to the editorial office at editor@politics-security.net. Reports should include the article details (title, DOI, authors), a description of the concern, and any supporting evidence.

The editorial board will treat all reports confidentially and will not reveal the identity of the person raising the concern without their explicit consent.

6. Record of Post-Publication Notices

All corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions issued by Politics & Security are listed below and linked to the relevant articles.

Retractions:

• Bairagi, L., Harun-Ar-Rashid, M., Rahman, M., Sheikh, T., & Hossain, T. (2025). Exploring the influence of economic and environmental knowledge on fish production in rural Bangladesh. Politics & Security, 12(2), 32–40. https://doi.org/10.54658/ps.28153324.2025.12.2.pp.32-40 — RETRACTED. Retraction notice published in Vol. 14 No. 4 (2025).