The Association of Chinese Political Studies (ACPS), formerly Chinese Scholars of Political Science and International Studies, was founded in 1986 in Houston, Texas by overseas Chinese who sought to profit from a critical mass of U.S.-based overseas Chinese academics and students, coupled with a fertile intellectual environment to build an organization that promoted scholarship as well as exchange among and between Chinese and American scholars of China. In 1995, the organization changed its name to the ACPS to reflect the fact that it had broadened its membership to welcome all individuals studying Chinese politics and related issues.
From its humble beginnings, the ACPS has grown to an organization of over 1,000 members from various parts of the world including Australia, Brazil, France, mainland China, , South Korea, Singapore, Germany, North America, Russia, and the UK. Since its founding, the ACPS has held more than two dozen international conferences and workshops in places such as Beijing, Hong Kong, London, Taipei, and San Francisco. Its flagship journal, the Journal of Chinese Political Studies (JCPS), is published by Springer, one of the world’s largest academic journal publishers. As well, around 20 books have been published under ACPS auspices. Finally, the ACPS has built formal institutional relationships with entities in the US, the Chinese mainland, and Taiwan.
The purpose of the ACPS is to promote excellence in all aspects of Chinese political studies. Towards this end, it organizes conferences and workshops around the globe at which cutting edge scholarship on Chinese political studies is presented, manages the well regarded JCPS, publishes edited volumes and special JCPS journal issues, maintains collaborative links with academic, educational, and professional institutions internationally, and encourages the development of Chinese political studies.