Steven R. Brechin

Professor, Sociology

Degree

Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1989

Specialties

Organizational, political, and environmental sociology

Publications

Brechin, S.R. 2008. "Ostriches and Change: A Response to Global Warming and Sociology" Current Sociology: 56 (3).

Brechin, S.R. Forthcoming 2008. "Corporate Contributions to Transnational Conservation NGOs: Private International Transfers or Transactions?" Forum: International Studies Review.

Brechin, S.R., G. Murray, and K.A. Mogulgaard. Forthcoming 2008. "Conceptual and Practical Issues in Defining Conservation Success: The Political, Social, and Ecological in an Organized World." Journal of Sustainable Forestry

Brechin, S.R., G. Murray, C. Benjamin. 2007. "Chapter 37: Contested ground in nature protection: current challenges and opportunities in community-based natural resourced and protected area management." In Jules Pretty et al. (editors) Handbook of Environment and Society. CA: Sage Publications.

Brechin, S.R. and D. Freeman. 2004. “Public Support for both the Environment and an Anti-Environmental President: Possible Explanations for the George W. Bush Anomaly.  The Forum: A Journal of Applied Research in Contemporary Politics.  Vol. 2, 1 (6).  

Brechin, S.R. 2003.  “Comparative  Public Opinion and Knowledge on Global Climatic Change and the Kyoto Protocol: The U.S. versus the World?, International Journal of  Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 23, No. 10 .

Brechin, S.R., P.Wilshusen, C. Fortwangler, and P.C.West (editors). 2003. Contested Nature: Promoting International Biodiversity With Social Justice in the Twenty-First Century. SUNY Press. 

Brechin, S. R. 1997. Planting Trees in the Developing World: A Sociology of International Organizations.  Johns Hopkins University Press.

Ness, G.D., W.D. Drake & S.R. Brechin (editors).1993. Population ‑ Environment Dynamics: Ideas & Observations, University of Michigan Press.

West, P.C., and S.R. Brechin, (editors).1991. Resident Peoples and National Parks:  Social Dilemmas and Strategies in International Conservation. Tucson: University of Arizona Press. 

Research Interests

Organizational, political, and environmental sociology; Non-government organizations; International organizations; Environment and development in developing countries; Biodiversity conservation; Public opinion; Public policy; Survey research methods 

Research Projects

Current research activities include the organizational development and outcomes of large NGOs; social responsibilities of NGOs; exploration of the notion of civil society and its boundaries and requirements; exploring the theory of the "Hollow State": NGO-government partnerships in a developing country context; social requirements and consequences of biodiversity conservation/nature protection; sociology of climate change; comparative public attitudes and values on the environment.

Selected Professional Activities

Hosted and co-organized: 2007 Maxwell Workshop on Organizations and the Natural Environment - Topic on Organizational Networks and the Natural Environment.  Maxwell School of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY.  May 22-24.  Working on an edited book from the conference: Organized Nature.

2005 Research Fellow, Wildlife Conservation Society and with the Society's funding recently completed (with field team) the first nation-wide study (including Mayan communities) of rancher/ farmer-jaguar conflicts in Belize, Central America. 

Professional Service

Associate Editor, Conservation Biology

Editorial Board, Social Science Quarterly

Editorial Board, Organization & Environment

Editorial Board, International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management

Editorial Board, Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy

Member, World Commission on Parks and Protected Areas, World Conservation Union, IUCN

Member, World Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP), World Conservation Union, IUCN