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Contours of Coalition Politics on Hydraulic Fracturing Within the United States of America

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Policy Debates on Hydraulic Fracturing

Abstract

This chapter analyzes coalition politics and public policy in the USA. The data are based on an online survey of policy actors in Texas, New York, and Colorado. Two coalitions are identified based on respondents’ positions on hydraulic fracturing, problem perceptions, and interaction patterns. One coalition consists of proponents of hydraulic fracturing and they prefer to see it expanded or continued. The second coalition consists of opponents of hydraulic fracturing and they prefer to see it stopped or limited. The two coalitions have moderate differences in their resource capacities, interaction patterns, and strategies. Public policy in the three states reflects the characteristics of the two coalitions with a ban in New York and the passage of regulations in Colorado and Texas.

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Heikkila, T., Weible, C.M. (2016). Contours of Coalition Politics on Hydraulic Fracturing Within the United States of America. In: Weible, C., Heikkila, T., Ingold, K., Fischer, M. (eds) Policy Debates on Hydraulic Fracturing. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59574-4_2

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