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April 5, 2012

ÃÛ½ÛÖ±²¥ faculty-student collaboration yields publication exploring environmental policy and governance

Dr. John W. Sutherlin, associate professor in political science and co-director of the Social Science Research Lab at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, and Dale Willson, a ÃÛ½ÛÖ±²¥ graduate in political science from Orchard Park, Wash., have published an article in "American International Journal of Contemporary Research."

The article is titled "Better Environmental Governance: A Function of Democracy or Authoritarianism?"

The paper explores the ties between environmental policy and democratic versus authoritarian governance structures - specifically, do authoritarian regimes represent an "efficient" manner to improve environmental conditions over their democratic counterparts?

Can authoritarian systems offer a different approach that is more ecologically friendly?

"Dale and I began working on the idea for this paper more than three years ago," noted Sutherlin, "Then it expanded to a conference presentation and finally into a research paper. We have edited and rewrote it many times to get it where it is now."

According to Willson, "The paper was an amalgamation of the things I had learned through my studies at ÃÛ½ÛÖ±²¥, being supplemented by my own personal interest and research into the subject. I'm greatly interested in state-building, and was delighted to further interest in the field of international studies."

Since ÃÛ½ÛÖ±²¥, Willson has enlisted in the U.S. Army and currently participates in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan where he is learning the trade of a paralegal in the JAG Corps.

After this deployment, he will attend the University of Oklahoma this fall and pursue a master's degree in public administration.

He is also obtaining a commission in the U.S. Army.

"When the Social Science Research Lab was started," added Sutherlin, "this is what we hoped would emerge: students and faculty conducting research and getting published or making conference presentations."

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