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A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces.


Formation

According to ''A Guide for Political Parties'' published by National Democratic Institute and
The Oslo Center The Oslo Center was founded by former Norwegian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik in January 2006. The purpose of the center is to work for world peace, human rights and inter-religious tolerance worldwide. The center cooperates closely with the ...
for Peace and Human Rights, there are five steps of coalition-building: # Developing a party strategy: The first step in coalition-building involves developing a party strategy that will prepare for successful negotiation. The more effort parties place on this step, the more likely they are to identify strategic partners, negotiate a good deal and avoid some of the common mistakes associated with coalition-building. # Negotiating a coalition: Based on the strategy that each party has prepared, in step 2 the parties come together to negotiate and hopefully reach agreement on the terms for the coalition. Depending on the context and objectives of the coalition, these negotiations may be completely secret or partially public. While some issues may be agreed on with relative ease, others may be more contentious and require different approaches to reach compromise. # Getting started: As negotiation concludes, the agreement between political parties needs to be formally sealed. This includes finalizing a written agreement, securing formal approval of the deal from the relevant structures of the coalition’s member parties and announcing the coalition details to the general public. # Working in a coalition: As the coalition partners begin working to implement their agreement, they will need to maintain good relations by continuing efforts to increase or sustain trust and communication among the member parties. Each party will also need to find a balance between respecting its obligations to the coalition and maintaining its individual identity. # Identifying lessons learned: Regardless of whether it plans to move forward alone or in another coalition, it is important for each party to review and document lessons learned from each coalition-building experience. This will make it possible to get a clearer picture of the positive and negative impacts of coalition-building on the party and to identify lessons learned that can inform any future coalition-building efforts. Coalitions manifest in a variety of forms, types, and terms of duration: * Campaign coalitions with high intensity and long-term cooperation * Federations, characterized by relatively lower degree of involvement, intensity, and participation, involving cooperation of long duration, but with members' primary commitment remaining with their own entities * Instrumental coalitions, involving low-intensity involvement without a foundation to mediate conflict * Event-based coalitions that have a high level of involvement and the potential for future collaboration. By contrast to
alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
s, coalitions are what might be termed "partnerships of unequals," since comparative political, economic, and military might, as well as the extent to which a nation is prepared to commit, dictates influence. Coalitions can often occur as an unplanned response to situations of danger, uncertainty, or extraordinary events, directed at interim objectives.


Function

Coalitions branch into two expanding categories: internal coalitions and external coalitions. Internal coalitions consist of people who are already in an organization, such as a workplace. For example, a
trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...
is a type of coalition formed to represent employees' wages, benefits, and working conditions. Without this unity between employees, workers may be subjugated to harsh working environments and low pay due to no practical regulations. Often, organizations prefer to council with members of their respective internal coalitions before implementing changes at the workplace to ensure support. In contrast, external coalitions consist of people that are members of different organizations who collaborate their efforts to achieve an overall objective. For example, in order to prevent gun violence and advocate gun control, several groups, unions, and nonprofit organizations banded to form the
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV) and the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence (EFSGV or Ed Fund), its sister organization, are two parts of a national, non-profit gun control advocacy organization that is opposed to gun violence. Since 1 ...
. External coalitions base their confidence in gaining credibility on inviting unlikely partners who wish to attain the same end goal, but the reasons to achieve these goals differ.


Use


Government and politics

Coalition government is an alternative model to majoritarian governance, the latter being characterized by winner-take-all "first-past-the-post" electoral systems that favor clear distinctions between winners and losers. Not only can coalitions of legislative groups form governments in parliamentary systems but they can form in divisions of power as well. The most usual analyses of coalitions in politics deal with the formation of multiparty cabinets in parliamentary regimes. In Germany, every administration has been a multiparty coalition since the conclusion of the Second World Waran example of a coalition government creation in a parliamentary government. When different winning coalitions can be formed in a parliament, the party composition of the government may depend on the bargaining power of each party and the presence (or lack of it) of a dominant party. The Cambridge Dictionary defines coalition as "the joining together of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually for a limited time, or a government that is formed in this way". Coalitions of political parties are
political group A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...
s, coalitions of some members of a political party are
parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamenta ...
s.


International relations

The temporary collaboration of two or more separate parties with a set goal and common purpose can be viewed as a coalition in international relations. Coalition competitions are represented in international political dynamics . In
international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...
, a coalition can be an ''ad hoc'' grouping of nations united for specific purposes. Although persons and groups form coalitions for many and varied reasons, the most common purpose is to combat a common threat or to take advantage of a certain opportunity, resulting in the often temporary nature of coalitions. The common threat or existence of opportunity is what gives rise to the coalition and allows it to exist as all parties involved see the benefit in working together. Such collaborative processes allow the actors of the coalition to approach a common goal or accomplish the same task. The behavior and dynamics of coalitions in international relations are created by commonalties and differences within the groups joining together. Rationality,
group dynamics Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision- ...
, and
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
are all contributing factors of coalitional behaviors in an international security framework.


Economics

Economic agents can form coalitions. When a coalition is formed around economic goals, the reasoning is financial. In economics, when two opposing sectors, such as a buyer and seller or two sellers, come together, it can be thought of as a coalition in the denotative sense, as the two groups come together temporarily to achieve a goal. One example would be the 1997 deal between
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
and
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ' ...
. The deal consisted of Microsoft rescuing the then-struggling Apple with an infusion of $150 million. Unions can be viewed as coalitions of workers (usually of the same job sector). When the agents considered are countries, the formation of an international treaty (e.g.
trade agreements A trade agreement (also known as trade pact) is a wide-ranging taxes, tariff and trade treaty that often includes investment guarantees. It exists when two or more countries agree on terms that help them trade with each other. The most common tr ...
or international
environmental agreements This is a list of international environmental agreements. Most of the following agreements are legally binding for countries that have formally ratified them. Some, such as the Kyoto Protocol, differentiate between types of countries and each n ...
) can also be seen as a coalition. In economics, a coalition's formation and its stability is mostly studied with tools from game theory.


Civil society

In
civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.labor unions A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...
, community organizations, and religious institutions. In France, for example, workers from different sectors and unions band together to aid each other in communicating a point. This coalition of unions is often very effective as it causes massive inconvenience to the country. The formation of coalitions such as the Community-Labor Coalition have proven to be an important strategy for social change in many contexts. In social groups, a coalition often forms from private citizens uniting behind a common goal or purpose. Many of these private citizen groups form grassroots organizations, such as the Christian Coalition, which is the largest grassroots political group in America. Activist groups in civil society are also viewed as coalitions for their respective cause. These activists are joined together by their belief in what they hope to achieve or accomplish.


Military

Military coalitions can be built and united under a singular power by multiple states and governments. They are fluid in terms of membership—not only does a country not have to have been a traditional ally to join a coalition, but nations can join, vary their contributions and caveats, withdraw, and be replaced by new members as the situation changes or national agendas change. The expansion of assets accessible to member nations to perform military operations is a crucial attribute of coalitions. In many ways, coalition warfare serves to make the crafting of a peace more difficult than the winning of the war itself. An example of such a coalition happened during the
Versailles Peace Conference The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
in 1919 when the Allied powers attempted to reach a peace agreement. Examples of military coalitions include the
Coalition of the Gulf War Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, a coalition of 35 countries, led by the United States, fought Iraq in the Gulf War from 1990–1991. Coalition by number of military personnel Coalition by divisions Army Central Comma ...
, when George H. W. Bush ended Saddam Hussein's aggression in the Middle East by enlisting and leading a military coalition in the 1991 Gulf War's
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
as well as his son George W. Bush's efforts in the "
Coalition of the Willing The term ''coalition of the willing'' refers to an international alliance focused on achieving a particular objective, usually of military or political nature. Usage *One early use was by President Bill Clinton in June 1994 in relation to possib ...
", a phrase employed during the 2003 campaign for the
war in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
led by the United States and its allies. A contemporary example is the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
coalition that intervened in the 2011 Libyan Civil War against Muammar Gaddafi. For coalitions to be effective in principle or in action, participating nations have tended to require a single overpowering threat—perhaps to freedom or a way of life or a crucial national interest—or the presence of a single despotic figure or regime whose continued existence is considered not only abhorrent to the generality of nations but also destabilizing to the region or world order.


Mathematics

In mathematics, the term ''coalition'' is linked to an equation which uses the coalition model for exponential population growth. This analytical equation was first published by mathematician
Pierre François Verhulst Pierre François Verhulst (28 October 1804, Brussels – 15 February 1849, Brussels) was a Belgian mathematician and a doctor in number theory from the University of Ghent in 1825. He is best known for the logistic growth model. Logistic e ...
in 1838 to allow for the approximation of the world's population at a given time by applying differential and integral techniques.


See also

*
Electoral alliance An electoral alliance (also known as a bipartisan electoral agreement, electoral pact, electoral agreement, electoral coalition or electoral bloc) is an association of political parties or individuals that exists solely to stand in elections. E ...
* Political alliance *
Collaborative leadership Collaborative leadership is a management practice which is focused on leadership skills across functional and organizational boundaries. Term Exploration The phrase collaborative leadership first appeared in the mid-1990s in response to the twin t ...
*
Multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
*
Popular front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
*
Syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French word ''syndicat ...
*
United front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...
*
List of countries with coalition governments A coalition government is a cabinet of a government in which several parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament. A coalition government might also be created ...
* ''
The Evolution of Cooperation ''The Evolution of Cooperation'' is a 1984 book written by political scientist Robert Axelrod that expands upon paper of the same name written by Axelrod and evolutionary biologist W.D. Hamilton. The book details a theory on the emergence of co ...
'' by Robert Axelrod


References


External links

{{Coalition Spectrum navbox * Diplomacy Coalitions