Chapter 1: Coalitions in State Reading Policy issue Networks.¹

Drawing extensively on the notion of issue networks and the research on coalitions in public policy, this study investigates how often state reading policy actors form coalitions; how many different coalition partners policy actors select; and what is the nature of coalitions in state reading policy issue networks. Data is drawn from interviews with 111 private and public sector policy actors involved in the development of reading policy in California, Connecticut, Michigan, and Utah. The findings of this study show that both governmental and nongovernmental state reading policy actors engage in a wide variety of collaborative alliances with numerous partners to achieve their policy objectives. The findings also demonstrate that coalitions can be differentiated by how they emerge, and government activity and previous interaction facilitate coalition activity.