Constitution | Officers

CONSTITUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR POLITICAL THEORY

Article I: Name and Purpose

1. The name of this society shall be the Association for Political Theory.

2. The purpose of this association shall be to promote the study of political theory and political philosophy in North America. Toward that end, the Association seeks to engage all the various traditions and approaches to political thought and philosophy. More specifically, the Association seeks to advance scholarly interaction, collaboration, and debate among political theorists; to support teaching, research, and publishing in political theory, political philosophy, and related forms of interdisciplinary studies; to organize conferences devoted to political thought; and to promote political theory in the academy.

3. The Association is formed exclusively for educational and scientific purposes as described under the appropriate sections of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States of America and shall meet the requirements for such organizations set forth by that Code.

Article II: Membership

1. Membership shall be open to persons interested in furthering the purposes of the Association and in participating in its activities, including college and university faculty, graduate students, and independent scholars and researchers with an interest in political thought from all disciplines and all countries.

Article III: Officers and Committees

1. The Association shall have the following officers: a Governance Committee Chair, two Executive Co-Directors, and a Secretary-Treasurer.

a. The Governance Committee Chair shall be responsible for convening and directing meetings of the Governance Committee, for communicating decisions of the Governance Committee to the membership, and for presiding over the business meeting.

b. The Executive Directors shall be responsible for implementing the decisions of the Governance Committee; and for corresponding with scholarly societies, associations, and related groups on behalf of the Association. The terms of the Executive Directors shall normally be staggered.

c. The Secretary-Treasurer shall be responsible for keeping minutes of all meetings, for recording decisions of the membership and Governance Committee regarding association policies, and for the collection and disbursement of all monies, at the direction of the governance committee.

Each officer shall be limited to no more than two (2) consecutive terms.

2. The Governance Committee shall consist of the three directly-elected officers and three at-large members, as well as the Program Committee representative (see below III. 5). Terms of all elected members shall typically be staggered. Upon formation, the Governance Committee shall select a Chair from among its at-large membership. The terms of all members (except the Program Committee representative) shall be three years, and no member shall serve more than two (2) consecutive terms as an at-large member of the Governance Committee. A majority of the Governance Committee shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and decisions shall be made by majority vote of said quorum.

3. Officers and Committee Members may be removed from office at any time for failure to carry out their responsibilities or for disrupting or otherwise impeding the work of the Association. Removal from office shall follow only upon a unanimous vote of all members of the Governance Committee (excluding the person being removed, if a member of that Committee).

4. Association officers and at-large members of the Governance Committee (with the exception of the Program Committee representative) shall be elected by the membership at the business meeting. The Governance Committee shall have the responsibility of nominating at least two candidates for each officer and each at-large position that must be filled in a given election. The process shall be as follows:

a. By five months prior to the next scheduled business meeting, the Governance Committee shall inform all Association members of which positions need to be filled and invite members to nominate themselves or others.

b. From those nominations the Governance Committee shall propose a slate of candidates to the Association membership by four months prior to the business meeting; in finalizing such a slate, the committee shall attempt to ensure that nominations represent the diversity of the Association and the academy more generally.

c. In addition, candidates may be nominated, either by a petition signed by 25 members at least one month prior to the business meeting, or by nomination and seconding from the floor at the business meeting itself. At all stages of the nomination process, members may nominate themselves.

5. A seventh member of the Governance Committee shall be elected by a majority of the previous year's Program Committee to serve a one-year term on the Governance Committee. No continuing member of the Program Committee may serve in this capacity as a member of the Governance Committee for more than three consecutive one-year terms.

6. In the event that any office or Governance Committee position becomes vacant for any reason, the Governance Committee shall appoint a temporary replacement from among the general membership of the Association. In the event that the office of Governance Committee Chair becomes vacant for any reason, the Governance Committee shall select a temporary Chair from among its membership. All such temporary appointments shall serve until the next election.

7. The Governance Committee shall have the authority and responsibility to oversee the administration of all aspects of the Association, including:

a. administering policies concerning the Association's publications and other association business

b. fostering affiliations with other learned societies

c. collecting and disbursing funds acquired from dues, publications, etc.

d. nominating candidates for the Governance Committee

e. creating other ad hoc or standing committees as necessary

f. communicating with members through newsletters, etc.

g. developing guidelines and requirements for membership in the Association

h. drafting nominating and election procedures for approval by the general membership

i. creating bylaws for issues regarding governance of the APT as they arise, subject to approval by the general membership

8. The Governance Committee may make decisions on behalf of the Association regarding issues requiring resolution that arise between business meetings. The Executive Directors shall communicate any such decisions to the Association’s membership within one month.

9. A Program Committee shall oversee all aspects of the Association’s conference: location selection, planning, advertising, solicitation of proposals, and decisions regarding inclusion and participation. Nominations for the following year’s Program Committee shall be solicited at each business meeting and from the membership of the Association at large; members may self-nominate. The Executive Directors shall appoint the Program Committee within one month after the conclusion of the business meeting. The Committee shall normally include, but not be limited to, at least one graduate student, at least two senior scholars (Associate or Full Professor or equivalent), and at least one junior scholar (Assistant Professor or equivalent).

Article IV: Amendments

1. Recommendations for amendments to this constitution may be submitted by any member of the Association at any time to the Governance Committee Chair, who may or may not submit the matter at any time to the whole Committee for consideration. Recommendations for amendments may also be submitted by petition of 10% or more of the general membership to the Committee as a whole. In order to be considered at that year’s business meeting, such petitions must be submitted to one of the Executive Directors no later than five months prior to the next scheduled business meeting, whereupon such petitions shall be forwarded immediately to all members of the Governance Committee for consideration as a potential ballot issue.

2. The Governance Committee shall forward all proposed amendments, along with its recommendation regarding such amendments, to the general membership of the Association no later than four months prior to the next scheduled business meeting (along with its list of nominations of Officers and Governance Committee members).

3. In order for the Constitution to be amended, the proposed amendment must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the members attending the business meeting of the Association at which the amendment appears on the ballot.

Article V: Ratification

1. This Constitution shall take effect on July 1, 2005.

Approved by unanimous vote at the APT Business Meeting of 31 October 2004.