Bottom-Up Politics: What Do We Know and Where Do We Need to Go?

Bottom-up politics responds to the current dysfunction in national governance with its damaging consequences for residents in both urban and rural communities throughout the nation. Partisan gridlock and protracted inattention to everyday problems are spurring communities to bring together problem-solving efforts of their own. Termed by New York Times columnist David Brooks "a localist revolution," these initiatives bridge partisan, sector and social divides. Found in places varied in size, geography and partisan leanings, bottom-up politics is in need of sustained exploration. This symposium examines the processes and practices of local problem solving in which communities gather evidence, build coalitions, display creativity and often increase their efforts in scale and breadth.

Speakers

Manuel Pastor, Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity, University of Southern California

Theda Skocpol, Victor S. Thomas Professor of Government and Sociology, Harvard University

William Spriggs, Professor of Economics, Howard University, and Chief Economist to the AFL-CIO

Margaret Weir, Wilson Professor of International and Public Affairs and Political Science, Brown University

This symposium is co-sponsored with:
The University Seminar on Bottom-up Politics, George Washington University
The Metropolitan Policy Center, School of Public Affairs, American University