Are a type of alliance described by hugh heclo that consists of people in washington-based interest groups, on congressional staffs, in universities and think tanks, and in the mass media, who regularly debate a particular government policy.

The answer is an issue network.

Explanation:

Issue networks are built on alliances between different individuals and organizations that might share a common interest in a particular cause. Issue networks often come together to try to influence a certain policy. Issue networks can employ different means of raising awareness about their cause in order to influence governments to change their policies.  An example would be how different groups have come together around the figure of Greta Thunberg even across international borders in the interest of drawing attention to the severity of climate change. Thunberg has received support from US-based politicians like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who has also been pushing a resolution called the Green New Deal in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as UN agencies that try to combat climate change.  

answer; sociological imagination;