Bylaws

Bylaws of the Association for the Anthropology of Policy (ASAP), a section of the American Anthropological Association (AAA).

(revised 2023) 

ARTICLE I. Name 

The Society shall be known as the Association for the Anthropology of Policy (ASAP), a Section of  the American Anthropological Association (AAA). 

ARTICLE II. Purposes 

The purpose of the ASAP shall be to advance the study of the anthropology of policy, to encourage  publication of the results of such study in mainstream publications in anthropology and those of other  disciplines, and to organize venues for presenting such work. The ASAP may encourage its  members to engage in policy debates to which specific members’ research findings contribute. 

ARTICLE III. Powers 

  1. The ASAP shall be autonomous in all matters within its field that are not reserved by the  Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association, inimical to the American  Anthropological Association’s interests, or prohibited by law. 
  2. The ASAP is empowered to determine membership dues. 
  3. The ASAP shall determine voting requirements on all ASAP matters. 
  4. The ASAP may engage in program and publishing activities, appoint editors, committees,  and other agents, and set program policies appropriate to its purposes. 
  5. The ASAP shall adopt and maintain Bylaws or Rules of Procedure consistent with American  Anthropological Association Bylaws. The ASAP shall file with the American  Anthropological Association Secretary a copy of its Bylaws. 

ARTICLE IV. Membership 

  1. Membership in the ASAP shall be open to any member in good standing of the American  Anthropological Association who supports the above purposes subject to the payment of dues  stipulated by the Executive Committee of the ASAP. 
  1. A Member in good standing shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, participate in  the scientific program and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction  of other business of the ASAP. 
  2. For just cause, a Member may be deprived of membership by a two-thirds vote of the  Executive Committee of the ASAP, subject to appeal to the Members at the Annual Meeting. 4. The Executive Committee of the ASAP shall have the authority to establish special  categories of membership consistent with already existing AAA categories ofmembership. 

ARTICLE V. Dues 

  1. The Executive Committee of the ASAP shall set the annual dues of Members. 2. Any Member in arrears in the payment of dues shall lose all membership privileges. 

ARTICLE VI. Executive Committee 

  1. There shall be an Executive Committee consisting of sevensix (76) officers. 2. Subject to directives and limitations imposed by the Members of ASAP, the Executive  Committee shall have the authority to execute on behalf of ASAP all powers and functions  defined in these Bylaws. 
  2. The Executive Committee, together with the three Board Members who shall not have voting  authority, shall meet face-to-face at least once annually, at the time of the Annual Meeting,  and may meet additionally (face-to-face or electronically as Members are able) on the call of  the President or a majority vote of the Executive Committee. 
  3. The Executive Committee shall make all non-elective appointments and may make interim  appointments to fill vacancies in any elective office until the next regularly scheduled  election. Any ties in voting will be resolved by the President. 

ARTICLE VII. Officers 

  1. The elected officers shall be a President, President-elect, Secretary-Treasurer, Past President,  Anti-Racism Officer, Graduate Student Representative, and Officer-at-Large. In agreeing to  nomination for such office, prospective officers must commit to attending the Annual  Meetings during their terms of office. 
  2. These officers may be “co-officers”— two individuals who would work together in a single officer position—under the terms of ARTICLE XI. Important reasons guide the decision to  allow co-officers. We are fortunate to have a broad international membership, with members  representing diverse networks, expertise, skill sets, and intellectual orientations. It is highly  unlikely that such diversity will be found in a single person. Yet is crucial that ASAP draw  on it to achieve our intellectual and practical goals and to grow the organization. Enabling  the possibility of co-officers will help foster such diversity. The ability to elect co-officers  also will allow us to split the functions of certain positions. For instance, one co-officer  could take primary responsibility for serving as secretary; the other could do the same for  treasurer. 
  1. The President shall be the presiding officer of the ASAP and, should the ASAP be entitled to  such representation, its representative on the Executive Board of the American  Anthropological Association. The President shall also be responsible for overall coordination  and membership outreach to fellow professional anthropologists. 
  2. The President-elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence, death,  resignation or incapacity of the President, and shall succeed to the office of President at the  expiration of the term as President-elect. The President-elect shall also serve as program  chair and assemble a three-person program committee (including him/herself) for the Annual  Meeting. 
  3. The Secretary-Treasurer shall submit a draft budget to the Executive Committee with time  enough to submit it by the AAA section budget deadline. The Secretary-Treasurer shall also  draft minutes from the Annual Meeting Board and Business meetings and distribute them  within thirty (30) days of the meeting. 
  4. The Past President shall also serve as chair of and assemble a three-person Nominations  Committee (including him/herself) to solicit candidates for elective office. 
  5. The Anti-Racism Officer will be the chair of the ASAP Anti-racism Committee, be  responsible for co-ordinate activities in relation to diversity and anti-racism within ASAP; take part in networking and advocacy with other AAA sections and the wider  anthropological community to advocate for diversity and anti-racism; and contribute to  discussions about further developing ASAP’s anti-racism work and expanding it to other areas of diversity as appropriate. 
  1. The Graduate Student Representative, a full-time student enrolled in a Ph.D. program at the  time of running for office, shall assume responsibility for membership outreach to fellow  students. 
  2. The Officer-at-Large will provide feedback from the membership and help the President and  the Executive Committee think through strategy for the organization. 
  3. The terms of office of the President, President-elect, Past President, Anti-Racism Officer, and Graduate Student Representative shall be two years, commencing at the conclusion of  the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. The terms of office of  the Secretary-Treasurer and the Officer-at-Large shall be three years, commencing at the  conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association. No officer  shall hold office for more than two consecutive terms. 
  4. A Board will be established and will consist of 
  • Three ASAP Board Members appointed by the Executive Committee, with input from  other members. These shall be: Newsletter Editor, responsible for the ASAP column in Anthropology News; Communications Director, responsible for maintaining the ASAP  website and other communications activities; and Education Director, responsible for  syllabi and bibliography for the website, workshops, and other educational activities. 
  • Additional appointments to the Board shall be made as the need arises, either as permanent positions or as temporary posts filling a limited time need. 
  • Appointments to the Board are for two years, with the possibility of reappointment. 

ARTICLE VIII. Annual Report 

At the time of each Annual Meeting, the Executive Committee of the ASAP shall report its activities  to the Members and to the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association. 

ARTICLE IX. Meetings 

  1. The ASAP shall hold an Annual Business Meeting at the time of the Annual Meeting ofthe  American Anthropological Association. 
  2. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Committee of the ASAP or upon written  request of three (3) percent of the Members.

ARTICLE X. Quorum 

  1. Three (3) percent of the Members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at the Annual  Business Meeting. 
  2. A majority of the members of the Executive Committee of the ASAP shall constitute a  quorum for transacting business. 
  3. The business of the ASAP shall be transacted by majority vote unless otherwise provided in  these Bylaws. 

ARTICLE XI. Nominations and Elections 

  1. Candidates for any elective office may be nominated by the Executive Committee of the  ASAP, by the Nominations Committee, or by other Members. All candidates shall be  Members in good standing of the ASAP. 
  2. The Past President shall serve as chair of the Nominations Committee for elective office  consisting of three (3) Members (including him/herself). 
  3. The Nominations Committee shall nominate at least one person for Secretary-Treasurer and  at least two (2) persons for the majority of other vacant offices. The Nominations Committee  shall submit information about all nominees to the American Anthropological Association, in  accordance with the AAA’s guidelines and deadlines, for inclusion in the AAA’s official  balloting materials for section elections. 
  4. Any (or no) officer position can be co-occupied by two individuals. 
  • Co-officers can be selected through any of the following means: (1) two individuals may  propose to run as co-officers and present themselves on the ballot as such; (2) the  nominations committee may propose two specific individuals to run as co-officers who, if they agree, present themselves on the ballot as such; and (3) the Board may propose  two specific individuals to run as co-officers who, if they agree, present themselves on  the ballot as such. 
  • The ballot will specify that the two individuals are running as potential co-officers and  may not be elected separately; 
  • If/when co-officers are elected, the pair will be responsible for determining a division of labor and designating which one will serve as a liaison to the AAA. The two can switch  which one serves as liaison after one year.
  • Co-officers in any one position have a single vote on the Executive Committee;
  • Any deadlocks that arise due to a disagreement between two individual co-officers will  be settled by a majority vote of the Executive Committee. 
  1. Three (3) percent of the Members in good standing may nominate an additional candidate for  any office, provided that all requisite nomination materials are submitted to the Nominations  Committee in accordance with the American Anthropological Association’s guidelines and  deadlines. 
  2. The Nominations Committee shall inform the prospective nominee of the probable extent of  the burden of office. A nomination becomes effective only upon filing with the Nominations  Committee a statement of willingness and ability to devote such time to the affairs of the  ASAP as necessary to the effective execution of office. 

ARTICLE XII. Balloting 

  1. A Member in good standing shall be entitled to cast one ballot in any election or  referendum. 
  2. Ballots shall be secret and shall be distributed, collected, and counted by the methods  deemed most suitable by the American Anthropological Association. 
  3. Thirty (30) days shall be allowed for the return of ballots. Ballots must be received not later  than the stated return date to be counted. 
  4. The candidate receiving the most votes for a contested office shall be elected; the American  Anthropological Association shall hold a run-off election within thirty (30) days to resolve  all ties. 
  5. The American Anthropological Association administers all elections. 

ARTICLE XIII. Referenda 

A referendum may be conducted at any time upon initiation of the Executive Committee of the  ASAP, or upon receipt by the Secretary-Treasurer of a petition signed by three (3) percent of the  Members in good standing. A referendum may be conducted by mail ballot, electronic mail ballot, or any other means of electronic transmission of ballots approved by the Executive Committee. A  majority of votes received shall constitute a favorable vote. 

ARTICLE XIV. Finances 

  1. The fiscal year of the ASAP shall be that of the American Anthropological Association. 2. The ASAP shall submit an annual operating budget to the American Anthropological  Association which, when approved, shall govern ASAP activities. 
  2. The income from annual dues and other sources shall constitute the Working Fund, available  for operations, publication, and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the ASAP as  the Executive Committee may determine. 
  3. No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the  Board or by any officer on behalf of the ASAP except that for the purpose of this section,  estimated receipts from annual dues and other accounts receivable for the current year may  be considered as available funds. 
  4. The ASAP may establish special funds to be administered by the American Anthropological  Association that follow the AAA guidelines for the establishment of such funds. 

ARTICLE XV. Amendment 

  1. These Bylaws may be amended by the Members by mail ballot, electronic mail ballot, or any  other means of electronic transmission of ballots approved by the ASAP Executive  Committee, provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the votes  cast. 
  2. Amendments may be proposed by the ASAP Executive Committee or by three (3) percent of  the Members in good standing. The Executive Committee shall have the proposed  amendment circulated to the Members and it shall allow thirty (30) days for the return of  ballots. 
  3. The amendments and provisions of these Bylaws shall be effective immediately upon  adoption and shall supersede and nullify all previous amendments and provisions.