Athena: Journal of Social, Culture and Society distinguishes editorial leadership, operational administration, manuscript handling, and scholarly advisory functions. This page defines the responsibilities and limits of authority associated with each editorial position.

The Editor-in-Chief provides scholarly leadership and holds overall responsibility for editorial standards and publication decisions.

• Guide the journal’s editorial direction within its published aims and scope.
• Oversee editorial screening and the consistent application of editorial policies.
• Make final acceptance or rejection decisions after considering the manuscript, reviewer reports, author responses, and handling editor recommendations.
• Assign manuscripts to qualified editors and oversee any formally delegated decision-making authority.
• Coordinate editorial responses to concerns affecting the integrity of submitted or published work.
• Oversee the scholarly content of special issues, where applicable.

The Managing Editor coordinates the administrative and operational aspects of the editorial workflow.

• Check submissions for required files, metadata, formatting, and administrative completeness.
• Coordinate correspondence among authors, editors, reviewers, and production personnel.
• Monitor assignments, review progress, revision deadlines, and outstanding editorial actions.
• Maintain editorial records and communicate decisions authorised by the responsible decision editor.
• Coordinate copyediting, proofs, metadata preparation, and publication arrangements after editorial acceptance.

Regional Handling Editors coordinate the scholarly assessment of manuscripts assigned to them. Assignments depend on subject expertise, availability, and the absence of relevant conflicts of interest.

• Assess the relevance and initial scholarly suitability of assigned manuscripts.
• Identify and invite suitable reviewers in accordance with the journal’s review policy.
• Evaluate reviewer reports for relevance, reasoning, and usefulness to the editorial assessment.
• Coordinate requests for revision and assess author responses.
• Submit reasoned recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief or the independent editor authorised to make the final decision.

Editorial Board Members contribute disciplinary expertise and advise on the journal’s scholarly development.

• Advise on subject coverage, emerging research areas, and the relevance of published content.
• Recommend suitable reviewers or potential editorial contributors.
• Undertake manuscript assessment, handling, or peer review when specifically invited and qualified to do so.
• Contribute to periodic discussions concerning editorial quality and improvements to journal policies.

The editor responsible for handling a manuscript and the editor authorised to issue the final decision must be identifiable in the journal’s internal editorial records. Delegated authority and changes of assignment must be recorded.

Reviewer recommendations inform editorial decisions. Reviewers do not independently accept or reject manuscripts, and administrative staff do not convert recommendations into decisions without authorisation.

Where an individual holds more than one role, authority derives from the specific assignment, rather than from the accumulation of titles. A conflicted editor must take no part in reviewer selection, assessment, or decision-making for the affected manuscript. An independent editor must be assigned through a non-conflicted editorial arrangement.