Research Committees

Revised in 1980, 2003 and in 2014

I. The Research Committee 01: Armed Forces & Conflict Resolution

The RC was initially established by the International Sociological Association (ISA) in 1970 with the title „Armed Forces and Society”. In 1980, reflecting a broadening of its orientation, the RC was renamed „Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution”; in French: „Forces Armees et Resolution des Conflits”.

1. In order to encourage research on armed forces and conflict resolution, the RC shall
   1. develop professional contacts between sociologists of armed forces and conflict resolution throughout the world;
   2. encourage the international exchange of research findings, theore-tical developments, and methodologies in the sociology of armed forces and conflict resolution;
   3. promote the teaching of course materials dealing with armed forces and conflict resolution at undergraduate, graduate, and post-gra-duate levels; and 
   4. promote international meetings and research collaboration in the field of armed forces and conflict resolution.
2. In accordance with ISA guidelines, the RC
   1. shall have at least one Interim Meeting between World Congresses of the ISA, and
   2. shall issue at least two Newsletters per year to all the members of the RC.
3. A Business Meeting of the RC shall be held at the World Congress and at the Interim Meeting(s).

II. Membership

1. Any social scientist active in research or teaching on armed forces and conflict resolution is eligible for membership.
2. Individuals seeking membership on the RC will inform the Executive Secretary.
3. Members shall either be regular members or affiliated members.
   1. Regular members shall be members of both the RC and the ISA and they shall be individuals in good standing both within the RC and the ISA.
   2. Affiliated members shall be members of the RC only (i.e., they are not members of the ISA also). They shall be in good standing within the RC.
4. All regular and affiliated members of the RC shall be entitled to vote as individual members in the discussions about thematic and organizational matters at the Business Meetings according to the principle "one member, one vote".
5. All regular and affiliated members of the RC shall be entitled to
   1. participate in the scientific activities of the RC; and 2. receive the newsletter issued by the RC free of charge.
6. All regular and affiliated members of the RC shall be obliged to
   1. uphold the present Statutes of the RC and to adhere to the stipu-lations of the present Statutes;
   2. conscientiously fulfil the tasks entrusted to them by the Business Meeting or other bodies of the RC; and
   3. pay their fee for the respective period (i.e. 4 years). Such dues will be used to cover the administrative costs of the RC.

III. Officers

1. The officers of the RC shall consist of
   1. a President,
   2. three Vice-Presidents,
   3. an Executive Secretary/Treasurer, and
   4. six to eight Executive Committee Members.
2. The officers collectively are hereafter referred to as the Executive Board.
   1. Eligible for serving in the Executive Board are regular members in good standing of both the ISA and the RC.
   2. The officers shall serve a term of four years.
   3. The term shall be one from one quadrennial World Congress of Sociology to the next.
   4. The officers must be regular members in good standing of both the ISA and the RC throughout their term of office.
   5. Officers may serve more than one term. It is recommended that they do not serve more than two terms consecutively.

IV. Responsibilities

1. The President
   1. assumes overall responsibility for the functioning of the RC and assumes major responsibility for the conference programs of the RC at the ISA’s World Congresses and at the Interim Meetings of the RC.
   2. identifies, in consultation with the Executive Board, the theme for at least one Interim Meeting between World Congresses and takes responsibility for the organization or co-organization of these inter-Congress meetings.
   3. aims for the publication of the conference papers of the RC.
   4. serves as the RC’s delegate to the ISA Research Council and other organizations (for alternate see section on Vice-Presidents).
2. In the case of the death, incapacitation, resignation, or other inability of the incumbent to carry out the responsibilities of the office of the Pre-sident, one of the members of the Executive Board, identified by the Executive Board, will assume the responsibilities of the President.
3. The Executive Secretary/Treasurer
   1. prepares the minutes of the Business Meetings for publication in the Newsletter of the RC.
   2. receives the members’ dues – if necessary, in cooperation with the ISA Secretariat – and maintains financial records and funds, as well as an up-to-date membership list.
   3. gives financial reports, to the Executive Board annually and to the Business Meeting biennially. The Treasurer must be discharged of his/her financial responsibilities by the Business Meetings.
   4. realizes the financial relations of the RC and the ISA.
4. Together, the President and the Executive Secretary/Treasurer
   1. shall be responsible for the Newsletter and the website of the RC.
   2. prepare the application for the RC's activity grant from ISA, the report on its use, and the activity reports requested by the ISA.
   3. keep an institutional memory of the history and the procedures of the RC.
5. The Vice-Presidents assist the President with those matters delegated by the President. This may include:
   1. serving as the RC’s alternate delegate to the ISA Research Council.
   2. serving as a liaison officer to the local organizing committee of the Interim Meeting.
   3. assisting with regard to the RC’s publications.
   4. promoting membership of the RC.
   5. identifying financial sources and raising funds.
6. The Members of the Executive Committee assist the President with those matters delegated by the President. This may include:
   1. assisting in the organization of the RC’s activities, events and con-ferences.
   2. promoting membership of the RC.
   3. seeking information to be distributed in the Newsletter and on the website of the RC.
7. In the event of a vacancy on the Executive Board, the President in consultation with the Executive Board may appoint a replacement until the next election.

V. Electoral Procedures

1. The Executive Board of the RC is elected every four years, just prior to the ISA World Congress, for a four-year term. The term of the newly elected officers shall commence at the following World Congress.
2. The election shall be carried out under the direction of the Nominations and Elections Committee. This Committee consists of two members of the RC who may be either regular or affiliated members.
3. These two members of the Nominations and Elections Committee are not members of the current Executive Board and they are not standing for election, i.e. they are in fact not eligible for nomination to the Execu-tive Board.
4. The Nominations and Elections Committee is responsible for preparing the list of nominations and for conducting the elections.
5. To ensure participation by all regular and affiliated members, the election process (including nominations) shall be done by mail, normally by e-mail. To this end, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare a no-minations form, to be sent to all regular and affiliated members at least 20 weeks before the election day.
6. All regular and affiliated members of the RC shall be entitled to nomi-nate candidates for the Executive Board.
7. Potential candidates shall confirm their willingness
   1. to accept the respective position on the Executive Board, should they be elected, and
   2. to remain a regular member in good standing for the duration of the mandate.
   3. They shall return the nomination form to the Nominations and Elections Committee, along with a brief curriculum vitae.
8. A member may be a candidate for more than one office, but may only serve in one office at a time.
9. The Nominations and Elections Committee will endeavor to have at least two nominations for each position. Also, a write-in section will be present for each office. The nominations should reflect the international nature of the membership.
10. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare a ballot listing all nominated candidates (and their normal country of residence) for each position on the Executive Board. For each position, the nominated candi-dates shall be listed in alphabetical order.
11. The ballot shall be sent to all regular and affiliated members of the RC by (e-) mail at least ten weeks before the election day. The election day will be no later than two weeks before the beginning of the World Con-gress.
12. Regular and affiliated members shall send their ballot by mail or e-mail to the designated electoral officers or e-mail account. Ballots received after election day shall not be counted.
13. Board members are elected on the basis of a simple majority of ballots received by the deadline specified on the ballot. In the case of a tie bet-ween candidates, the issue is resolved in a manner that is mindful of regional representation, and for candidates from the same region, by dra-wing lots.
14. The newly elected officers will be announced through the ISA Bulletin, the Newsletter of the RC, on the website of the RC and at the meetings of the RC at the World Congress.

VI. Subcommittees and Regional Groups

1. The President of the RC may appoint subcommittees as needed.
2. Regional study groups of the RC may be established with the approval of the President and in consultation with the Executive Board.

VII. Membership Dues

1. Membership dues are collected for a period of four years.
2. Members are advised to follow the guide for membership dues as given in the most recent Newsletter of the RC.
3. Currently, the dues range from 10 to 50,- USD depending on status and country of residence (as defined by the ISA country Categories A, B and C):

Members of Category A countries                                       50,- USD

Student members of Category A countries                         25,- USD

Members of Categories B and C countries                         25,- USD

Student members of Categories B and C countries           10,- USD

4. Membership dues may be amended at the regular Business Meeting(s).

VIII. Methods of Payment

1. Regular members may pay RC dues either directly to the Executive Secretary who runs a bank account on behalf of the RC, or, in conjunction with ISA dues, to the ISA Secretariat in Madrid.
2. Affiliated members shall pay RC dues directly to the Executive Secretary.

IX. Amendments

1. Any proposal for amendments to the Statutes may be made by any member of Executive Board, or by any five members in good standing of the RC.
2. Such a proposal must be received by the President AND the Executive Secretary at least eight months before the World Congress.
3. The proposal will be circulated among all members of the RC, together with an explanation of its rationale, at least four months before the next World Congress.
4. The Executive Board will be entitled to propose amendments, to be circu-lated at least two months before the World Congress.
5. The proposed amendments will be put to the Business Meeting, and adopted if approved by a two-thirds majority of those present at the Busi-ness Meeting. In exceptional cases, e.g. if the number of members atten-ding the Business Meeting is less than 15, the proposed amendments may be decided upon by an (e-)mail voting.