In
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
, a common front is an alliance between different groups, forces, or interests in pursuit of a common goal or in opposition to a common enemy. Other words that may be used are "alliance" or "
coalition", though the term "common front" is often used when groups want to emphasize that their alliance is of a temporary nature and that individual groups within the front maintain their independence and do not consider themselves subservient to a collective leadership.
The practice of uniting with anyone against a common enemy is called frontism. Historically, it has been a practice of
Marxist–Leninist
Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
parties to unite with non-communist forces in
revolution
In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
. In
left-wing
Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
politics, there are two main types of common fronts: the
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 ...
and the
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 ...
.
References
{{Poli-stub
Political terminology