Submission Guidelines

Checklist

A quick checklist prior to submission (further details below):

  1. Does the manuscript cover a topic and region that falls within our purview?
  2. Is the manuscript in .doc, .docx (MS Word), or .txt?
  3. Does it conform to our word-length limits? (Including endnotes, but excluding abstract, title, etc.these are between 8000 and 9000 words for research articles, and 6500 or 8500 words for Perspectives pieces)
  4. Is the citation style in Chicago-style  and using endnotes without reference list (not in-text citations with reference list)?
  5. Do you have a cover letter that provides (a) all the required contact information and (b) your statement confirming that the manuscript is not currently under review by another publisher, will not be sent to another publisher while under review at Pacific Affairs, and has not previously been published (even in another language)? (NOTE: If you are submitting your paper through our website submission portal, this may substitute for the cover letter).
  6. Have you included a 250-word abstract and 5–8 keywords?
  7. Are all non-English language sources Romanized consistently in a recognized style?
  8. Does the manuscript provide new empirical information for specialists?
  9. Does the manuscript engage with the relevant Asian-language materials and scholarship?
  10. Does the manuscript possess a clear argument that is differentiated from or positioned within the existing academic literature on directly relevant subjects?
  11. Is the manuscript encased in argumentation that is consistent, cogent, and fully engaged with the larger theoretical and/or comparative literature on the subject?
  12. Is the manuscript written in clear and consistent English and have a structure that helps support the argument?

Manuscripts that do not conform to these guidelines will either be declined (item #1) or may be returned to the author for correction (items #2-12) before the formal review process is initiated. 

Submission Guidelines

Submission Guidelines, the Style Guide, Romanization Guide, and the Preferred Usage Guide are intended to help authors prepare their submissions; please read them carefully prior to submitting your manuscript.

In addition to the aforementioned Guides, we also strongly encourage authors to read recent articles published in our journal for a picture of the range of subjects we cover. Our rejection rate averages around 90% of all the submissions we receive per year. Further, we are currently rejecting 60% of all submissions at the pre-review stage because either the subject area is not appropriate for Pacific Affairs, or the format and/or word count is not in accordance with our guidelines. Therefore, it is essential that authors carefully read the text below and check the Style Guide and Romanization Guide prior to submission. For authors proposing potential Special Issues, please check the Special Issue Guidelines.

Please note that we will not review manuscripts submitted by authors who have published articles in Pacific Affairs in the previous year (i.e. there should be a twelve-month interval between publication — rather than submission — of articles).

1) Submitting

Electronic submissions must be in Microsoft Word or Open Office, with the documents sent as attachment(s) to: articles@pacificaffairs.ubc.ca. Alternatively you may submit your manuscript online. Please do not send your manuscript as PDF or in other formats. If there are technical difficulties in sending your manuscript as an MS Word or Open Office file, please contact us about alternatives.

Manuscripts sent to any other emails at the initial stage will not be treated as submissions. This applies to the email addresses of all individuals, including the editor, managing editor, editorial assistants, associate editors, executive committee members, and editorial board members.

Our standing policy is to confirm the receipt of all submissions. If you do not receive such a confirmation, assume your manuscript has not reached us.

All materials, including abstracts, text, and endnotes, should be double-spaced. There should be one-inch margins on both sides. Please consult the Style Guide for further details.

2) Writing Style

Papers should be written in a style that makes complex or specialized issues comprehensible and interesting to readers who may not be specialists of the geographic, disciplinary, theoretical, or methodological focus. Therefore, authors should frame their manuscripts in ways that might appeal to a wide range of readers, take comparative approaches, or make an explicit and sustained effort to explain the larger significance of a country-specific case.

Please note that it is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that their submission is written in grammatically correct, substantively clear, and stylistically engaging English. As a general rule, we strongly prefer that authors conduct a thorough copyedit or employ a professional editor familiar with academic language (rather than simply someone who happens to be a “native” speaker) before sending a submission to us. Manuscripts with serious writing issues will be rejected. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication, but will likely increase the likelihood that the content of your argument is fully understood by the editors and the reviewers.

3) Word length

Manuscripts for regular research articles should be between 8000 and 9000 words including endnotes, but excluding the title, author name, abstract, and keywords. Perspectives pieces should be approximately 4,500, 6,500, or 8,500 words in length. Each table or figure that covers half a page in standard MS Word page format can be counted as 100 words of text for word count estimation purposes.

4) Abstract and Keywords

Each article manuscript submission should be accompanied by an abstract of not more than 250 words, indicating the central puzzle or question, summarizing the major argument of the article, and the significance of the manuscript for the existing body of knowledge.

Five or six keywords should also accompany the submission. If your manuscript is accepted, these will be included on the bottom of the first page.

5) Endnotes

While the article will ultimately be published in a footnote format, your original manuscript should be submitted with endnotes using the endnote feature in Microsoft Word. Consult our Style Guide and for issues not covered there please consult the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Edition, 2010. Please note we do not use in-text references. Please do NOT include a consolidated list of references at the end of the submitted manuscript, as we do not publish a separate list of references or a bibliography.

Your endnotes should have specific page references unless the citation is to the entirety of the book or the article’s argument. We do not consider Wikipedia or similar on-line resources acceptable citations for empirical information. Citations to such resources as points of engagement, either empirical or conceptual, would be acceptable.

6) Romanization

For citations in all languages other than in English, please provide the title in the original language, Romanized in accordance with one of the following systems: either McCune-Reischauer or the Revised South Korean Romanization system (Korean), Hepburn (Japanese), and pinyin (Chinese). An English translation of the title in parentheses must follow the Romanized title. This will allow interested readers to trace the original source. Please consult the Romanization Guide for further details.

7) Spelling

We employ the Canadian spelling system (double quotations, “globalization,” “utilize,” “rigour,” etc.). Please consult our Style Guide and our Preferred Usage Guide for Spelling and Capitalization on our website and The Canadian Oxford Dictionary for detailed guidelines on issues related to grammar and spelling.

8) Tables

Tables should be placed on separate pages—not incorporated within the text. Each table should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. A full citation of the sources of data should be double spaced and placed at the end of the table. Each table that covers half a page in standard MS Word page format can be counted as 100 words of text for word count estimation purposes.

9) Figures/Photos/Tables

Graphics should be placed on separate pages—not incorporated with text. They should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. A full citation of the sources of data should be double-spaced and placed at the end of the figure. If the paper is accepted for publication then all photos that are submitted with the article must be at least 1200 pixels x 1200 pixels. Other graphics must be in a file format that is editable (excel, powerpoint, etc.). Failure to comply with this will mean Pacific Affairs will outsource to bring the graphic(s) to print-ready standards and then charge back to the author. Each figure that covers half a page in standard MS Word page format can be counted as 100 words of text for word count estimation purposes.

10) Diacriticals

Papers with tables, charts, and orthography not common to English word processing should be checked for accuracy before submission. Please refer to the Style Guide for details. Microsoft Word is compatible with macrons and diphthongs.

11) Quotations

Quotations must correspond exactly with the original in wording, spelling, and punctuation. Page numbers must be given. Changes must be indicated: Use brackets to identify insertions; use dots … to show omissions. Also indicate where emphasis has been added to the original. Quotations beginning or ending in the middle of a sentence should begin or end with dots … Only quotations of over 50 words should be separated from the text; also double-spaced; indented at beginning margin, and page number to be shown in brackets. Per the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th edition please refrain from using scare quotes (single or double quotation marks) around single words “unless it is essential to the author’s argument and not confusing to readers.” (p. 366)

12) Cover Letter

For email submissions, a Cover Letter should include the full contact details of all authors and a brief description of the relevance of your paper to Pacific Affairs. Please do not attach CVs or other supporting materials to your cover letter. For submissions via our website submission portal, the submission form may substitute for the cover letter and statement below, though you are of course still free to submit a cover letter via the portal.

Your submission cover letter must also include a statement that the manuscript has not previously been published, and that it is not currently on offer to another publisher. The statement should read, “I confirm that the manuscript, ‘Title’, is not currently under review by another publisher, will not be sent to another publisher while under review at Pacific Affairs, and has not previously been published.” This is a binding statement with professional, legal, and ethical implications, whose violations will trigger our standing policies for academic misconduct. For more information, please see our Misconduct Policies. If you have any questions about this policy whatsoever, please contact us.