UC Berkeley's Karen Trapenberg Frick presented Unlikely Alliances and Transpartisanship: Finding Common Ground Across Difference on Transportation and Infrastructure Oct. 12, 2018 at 4 p.m. in 290 Hearst Memorial Mining Building.
Abstract
Against a backdrop of hyper-political polarization worldwide, this presentation reviews recent transpartisan coalitions of conservative and progressive allies who advocate for policy change about transportation and infrastructure in the United States. Some might view these as unholy alliances where participants make deals with the devil or lend one’s enemies undue legitimacy. However, when alliances emerge, public officials and the citizenry are challenged to not dismiss an enemy Other outright when divergent activists and key stakeholders agree on matters of substance and process. Karen Trapenberg Frick will discuss how these coalitions form, the strategies used to disseminate and market coalition messaging, and the implications for policy and planning.