Group of people listening during a Panel session looking toward the speaker

Evaluation for Section Chairs

This guide is designed to help you evaluate proposals submitted to your Conference Section within the ECPR system.

The Steering Committee extends its appreciation to the Section Chairs for accepting their roles.

Guiding Principles

Please familiarise yourself with the Guiding Principles and Ethical Framework of the ECPR Standing Group on Gender and Politics, developed by members of a dedicated working group in 2023-4.

Papers that contravene the Guiding Principles should not be accepted (for example, if it is clear that they are taking explicit anti-feminist, transphobic, racist positions). If in doubt, please get in touch with the Steering Committee.

See in particular:

(b) Selection of Panels and Papers

The section chairs will select Panel and Paper submissions fairly and transparently, based on their fit with the section call and scientific merit. They shall address potential biases and conflicts of interest promptly. Section Chairs shall be mindful of the dominance of research topics and scholars from, or affiliated to, institutions in the Global North.

Section Chairs shall limit the over-representation of few scholars or topics and actively promote the presence of under-represented scholars in the conference programme.

Section Chairs shall promote the creation of spaces to promote the visibility of historically subjugated forms of knowledge (e.g. Black and Indigenous knowledge, critical and decolonial approaches, queer theory, anti-ableist research) and the presence of historically under-represented groups, regions, topics and research areas.

Section Chairs shall allocate conference roles (e.g. panel chairs and discussants) transparently based on individuals’ knowledge and expertise. They should also be mindful not to create excessive burdens on individuals in positions of disadvantage.

Throughout the selection process, Section Chairs shall not discriminate on the basis of gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, nationality, language, socioeconomic status, age, body size or religion including lack thereof.

And

(a) Section Chairs, Panel Chairs and Discussants

The Section and Panel Chairs shall foster open intellectual discourse and promote respect, encouraging active listening during Panel and Paper presentations and discussions.

Section Chairs, Panel Chairs and Discussants must use inclusive language and communication and demonstrate respect for diverse cultural perspectives and practices such as religious observances, dietary habits and dress. They should accommodate differences in physical ability and cultural values, engage in critical thinking about power and representation, and promote subversive forms of knowledge (e.g. Indigenous, queer, anti-colonial, and disability perspectives).

Panel Chairs and Discussants must uphold a “do no harm policy” and take positive actions to avoid any physical, emotional or sexual harm to participants, and ensure that conversations among participants are carried out in an ethical, respectful and consensual manner.

Other important notes

Each conference participant can have two substantive speaking roles (e.g. two Papers, one Paper and one roundtable contribution). This does not apply to Panel Chair and discussant roles allocated by Section Chairs.
You may wish to conduct one round of selection using blind review (hiding names and institutional affiliations) and another round with these in mind to prioritise marginalised and underrepresented scholars.
If you feel a Paper may be better suited to another Section (and is otherwise eligible), please feel welcome to contact other Section Chairs.

Roles and Responsibilities

Below are the key roles and responsibilities of the Section Chairs/Co-Chairs.

Writing Panel abstracts

It is the responsibility of the Section Chairs/Co-Chairs (not Panel Chairs) to write abstracts for the Panels created from the individually submitted Papers.

We suggest sharing this out among the Section Co-Chairs.
You can draw on text from your Call for Papers and provide a summary of the Papers on the Panel.
This can be done before allocating Panel Chairs and Discussants. When approaching individuals for these roles, it will be helpful to include the Panel abstract.

Allocating Chairs and Discussants

Ideally Panel Chairs will not be presenting on the same Panel.
Co-Chairs are not required unless you wish to appoint them.
To fill Chair/Discussant roles, we recommend approaching individuals who are presenting on other Panels in your Section.
You may wish to consider offering Chairing opportunities to early career researchers and invite more established participants to act as Discussants.
Please consider diversity when selecting individuals for these roles.

Evaluation Guide

Important information

There should be a minimum of four Papers allocated to each Panel.

When evaluating Panels and Papers, Sections Chairs are expected to consider the quality of the proposal and the fit with the Section theme, as well as aim for a diversity of gender, geography and career stages.

Making changes

Section Chairs can make as many edits as required to the status of the Panel/Paper proposals within the evaluation window, up until midnight UK time on 29 January 2026.

Applicants will recieve an update on the status of their proposal by 1 February 2026.

Re-allocating Papers

If Section Chairs consider a Paper to be of high quality but not a good fit for any Panel within their Section, they should email sgconferences@ecpr.eu, or contact a fellow Section Chair whose Section may be more suitable. It is at the discretion of the receiving Section Chair whether to accept the suggested Paper.

However, the Academic Convenors may use their discretion to reallocate Panels and Papers to other Sections and Panels as required.

Section Chairs may, therefore, be asked to accommodate new Panels in their Sections, and Panel Chairs may be asked to accommodate extra Papers within their Panels. Similarly, Section Chairs may also be asked to reduce the number of their Panels and rearrange their Papers accordingly.

Please visit this page on our website for detailed guidelines to help you with the selection.

If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the Events Team.

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