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January 19, 2012

ULM political science professors present research at prestigious conference

ULM political science professors Drs. Joshua Stockley and John W. Sutherlin presented their research on Louisiana campaigns and elections at the Southern Political Science Association Annual meeting held this year in New Orleans from Jan. 12-14.

Their paper was titled "The Louisiana Legislature: Factional Politics in a One-Party State," and focused on the divisions of ideology and geography among Republicans in the new legislature.

"Many would assume that since Republicans have a clear majority in the legislature and control the Governor's Office and all state-wide elected offices, that a consensus would be formed around core issues, but that is not the case. There still will be significant regional and philosophical differences to make politics interesting in Louisiana."

Stockley and Sutherlin also served on a panel discussion at the SPSA that included issues associated with redistricting and executive branch changes.

Sutherlin added, "It is always exciting to present research papers or serve on panels at the SPSA, especially when discussing Louisiana politics. For some reason, we just seem more interesting than most other states."

The research paper will be the basis for a book chapter in a forthcoming work tentatively called "Louisiana Government at 200: Institutional Evolution" and will be published by LSU Press.

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