Standards and Guidelines for the Global Research Association of Politics in Hong Kong

MISSION
Founded in 2022, the Global Research Association of Politics in Hong Kong (GRAPH), affiliated with the American Political Science Association, aims to promote the studies of Hong Kong politics in the mainstream political science community, to assist political scientists who conduct research about Hong Kong in their professional development and to facilitate the development and growth of an integrated academic community among Hong Kong political scientists and U.S.-based scholars with a substantial research interest in Hong Kong.

GOALS
GRAPH endeavors to promote studies on the theoretical implications of Hong Kong’s social, economic, political transformation and the changes and continuities of its external relations; to promote Hong Kong political studies as an important research area in the international academic community, and specifically as an indispensable element in any respectable curriculum on East Asia; to facilitate interaction and collaboration between political scientists in the U.S. and Hong Kong; and to assist young scholars and advanced graduate students in their career development.

PROGRAM
These goals are to be achieved through the sponsorship of panels and roundtables under the broad umbrella of the APSA annual meeting each year; the support of publication projects; through the encouragement of other professional activities.

MEMBERSHIP
We maintain a simple membership system.

  1. Eligibility:
    Anyone can become a member if he or she pays the annual membership due (if any).

  2. Membership Privileges:
    Membership enables one to vote for GRAPH coordinator; to qualify for participation in GRAPH-organized activities; to qualify for the travel grants and research supports administered through the GRAPH; and to be listed in GRAPH Membership Directory.

ORGANIZATION
Coordinator: The Coordinator is the chief executive officer of the GRAPH and the chief representative of the group. The Coordinator is responsible for the preparation of the annual meeting program and of funding proposals. The Coordinator serves a three-year renewable term. In the second year of a term, the Coordinator for the next term is elected by all the voting members present at the annual business meeting. Any voting member who is sponsored by five or more voting members can become a candidate. The candidate who wins the highest votes is elected as Coordinator-elect.

Assistant Coordinator(s):
During his or her tenure, the Coordinator appoints at least one U.S.-based member as Assistant Coordinator. Assistant Coordinator(s) serves a three-year renewable term. They provide advice and assistance to the Coordinator with respect to annual meeting programs, funding, and other group-wide matters.

Treasurer:
During his or her tenure, the Coordinator appoints at least one U.S.-based member as Treasurer. The Treasurer serves a three-year renewable term. The Treasurer is responsible for managing the financial affairs of the group.

Senior Advisors:
The Coordinator may appoint senior political scientists as advisors for the GRAPH.

GRAPH Guidelines for the Review of Paper, Panel, and Grant Proposals

  1. GRAPH Coordinator, after consulting with GRAPH Assistant Coordinator(s), other members and APSA officials, decides the number of panels to be organized in an APSA annual meeting, specific topic for each panel, and the deadline for proposal submission.

  2. The Review Committee shall consist of all the incumbent GRAPH officials and, when available, the Coordinator-elect. The Coordinator may invite a senior member to join the Committee. The Coordinator either chairs the Review Committee or appoints one committee member as its chairperson.

  3. The call for papers should be made public to GRAPH members no less than fifty days before the deadline for proposal submission.

  4. Individual paper proposals should consist of a half- to one-page double-spaced description of the paper and, if needed, the amount of partial travel support needed from the GRAPH.

  5. Two types of panel proposals will be reviewed: (1) roundtables, and (2) panels seeking co-sponsorship with APSA Organized Sections by using the latter’s APSA panel quotas. A panel proposal should specify the topic, the chair of the panel, other panelists and their roles in the panel, and the total amount of travel support requested. Once approved by the Review Committee, the person who submitted the proposal for a co-sponsored panel is responsible for negotiating with the targeted APSA Organized Section under the conditions set by the Review Committee.

  6. All the proposals, as well as letters indicating willingness to serve as panel chair or discussant, should be submitted to the Assistant Coordinator(s). The Assistant Coordinator(s) is responsible for sending duplicate copies of proposals to all other members of the Review Committee.

  7. Review Committee chooses participants based on their proposals’ quality and relevance to the selected themes of GRAPH panels, and the reasonableness of their travel-support requests. If several proposals share the same level of quality, those who do not serve as panelists in the previous year’s GRAPH panels should have higher priority. The Review Committee should inform the applicants of the results of review as soon as the program is finalized.

  8. Travel support allocated to GRAPH panelists is subject to the constraints of GRAPH funds. There is no guarantee that travel support will be provided.

  9. If the actual number of panels assigned by APSA to GRAPH is different from the number planned, the Coordinator is responsible for readjusting the GRAPH program.